Mines and Metals Corp. v. Securities and Exchange Commission

This is an appeal from an order of the District Court directing the appellants to comply -with a subpoena duces tecum, issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring appellants to appear before an officer of the Commission and to produce certain books, papers and documents of the corporate appellants.

On December 11, 1951, the Commission ordered an investigation to determine whether the corporate appellants and certain named individuals were violating § 5(a) of the Securities Act, 15 U.S.C.A. § 77e, relating to the sale of unregistered securities in interstate commerce, or by use of the mails. The order for investigation recited that information reported to the Commission by its staff if true tended to show that certain individuals were engaged in selling the common stock of those corporations to the public notwithstanding no registration statement had been filed on behalf of either of them. During the investigation a designated officer of the Commission issued subpoenas duces tecum to the appellants Ball, Bush and McGinnis, president, vice-president and secretary-treasurer respectively, of both corporations, directing each of them to appear with the designated…