Forde

Plaintiff Stephen C. Forde instituted an action against the Bank of Finance (Bank) for specific performance of a contract to purchase 500,000 shares of Bank’s preferred stock, which purchase would give Forde a controlling interest in Bank.

Plaintiff applied for a preliminary injunction to restrain defendant Bank from selling the stock to other prospective purchasers pending the resolution of the action. Plaintiff now appeals from an order of the trial court denying the application. We reverse.

Because of an impairment of Bank’s ability to meet certain capital requirements as specified by the regulations of the California Superintendent of Banks (Superintendent), Bank obtained a permit from the Superintendent to negotiate for the sale of the stock which is the subect of this litigation.

*41 This permit did not authorize Bank to effect an actual sale of the stock, since any such sale required an additional authorization or approval by the Superintendent of the buyer and the specific terms of the sale.

Although the actual procedure followed within the office of the Superintendent varies from case to case, the fact remains that the ultimate step in the process is the…