Securities & Exchange Commission v. ING USA Annuity & Life Insurance

MEMORANDUM

A group of secured creditors, not parties in the proceedings below (“Appellants”), appeal 1) the district court’s denial of their motion for recusal and 2) the district court’s grant of a preliminary injunction barring all legal claims against a number of corporate entities associated with Jon Harder and Sunwest Management. We also have before us three motions dealing with the record in this case: 1) Appellants’ motion to strike, 2) Appellants’ motion to supplement appellate record, and 3) Appel-lee Michael Grassmueek’s request for judicial notice. Because the parties are familiar with the facts and procedural history of this case, we do not recite them here.

I. Appellants’Motion for Recusal

The district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Appellants’ motion for recusal. Recusal motions are reviewed for abuse of discretion. Preston v. United States, 923 F.2d 731, 733 (9th Cir.1991) (citation omitted). “An abuse of discretion is a plain error, discretion exercised to an end not justified by the evidence, a judgment that is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts as are found.” Rabkin v. Or. Health Scis. Univ., 350 F.3d 967 , 977 (9th Cir.2003)…