First Foundation Inc. v.Thomas Munson Giddings

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 SOUTHERN DIVISION 11 12 13 FIRST FOUNDATION INC. et al., Case No.: CV 20-00359-DOC-KES 14 Plaintiffs, 15 16 v. 17 ORDER GRANTING PRELIMINARY 18 THOMAS MUNSON GIDDINGS et al., INJUNCTION 19 Defendants. 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 1 Before the Court are Plaintiffs First Foundation Inc. and First Foundation Advisors 2 (“FFI,” “FFA,” and collectively “Plaintiffs”), and Defendants Thomas Munson Giddings and 3 Louis Pancoast Abel (“Giddings,” “Abel,” and collectively “Defendants”). Having reviewed all 4 submissions by the parties and considered their testimony and argument at the hearing in this 5 matter, the Court now GRANTS a preliminary injunction pending the resolution of this case. 6 I. Background 7 A. Facts 8 The following facts are drawn from Plaintiffs’ first application for a temporary 9 restraining order (“First Application”) (Dkt. 6). Plaintiff FFI is the parent corporation of Plaintiff 10 FFA, the latter of which is a Registered1 Investment Advisor offering…