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966 F.3d 991
9th Cir.
2020

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

No. 19-10187

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION,

USAO No. 2018R01761 (Grand Jury

Subpoenas To Pat Roe),

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

DOE COMPANY,

Defendant-Appellant,

v.

PAT ROE; JOHN DOE,

Movants.

No. 19-10187

D.C. No.

3:19-xr-90017-

CRB-1

OPINION

2 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION,

USAO No. 2018R01761 (Grand Jury

Subpoenas To Pat Roe),

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

DOE COMPANY,

Defendant-Appellant.

No. 19-10261

D.C. No.

3:19-xr-90017-

CRB-1

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of California

Charles R. Breyer, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 14, 2019

San Francisco, California

Filed July 27, 2020

Before: Kim McLane Wardlaw, William A. Fletcher,

and Richard Linn,* Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge W. Fletcher

* The Honorable Richard Linn, United States Circuit Judge for the

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, sitting by designation.

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 3

SUMMARY**

Grand Jury Subpoenas

In two appeals arising from a federal grand jury

investigation into the acquisition of one company by another,

the panel (1) dismissed for lack of appellate jurisdiction the

Doe Company’s appeal seeking review of the district court’s

order enforcing Doe Company partner Pat Roe’s compliance

with a grand jury subpoena, and (2) affirmed the district

court’s orders enforcing the Doe Company’s compliance with

a grand jury subpoena and holding the Doe Company in

contempt for failure to produce the subpoenaed documents in

its possession.

Dismissing for lack of jurisdiction the Doe Company’s

interlocutory appeal from the enforcement order against Roe,

the panel clarified that under Perlman v. United States,

247 U.S. 7 (1918), this court may entertain interlocutory

appeals from orders enforcing grand jury subpoenas only

when they require production of materials that are claimed to

be privileged or otherwise legally protected from disclosure.

Because the Doe Company made no such claim, this court

lacks jurisdiction under Perlman. The panel noted that the

Doe Company has not sought a writ of mandamus and that

review is unavailable under the general collateral order

doctrine.

The panel affirmed the district court’s orders denying the

Doe Company’s motions to quash a grand jury subpoena and

** This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has

been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader.

4 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

holding the Doe Company, which is based outside of the

United States, in contempt. The panel held that, taken

together, the district court’s findings adequately support its

determination that it had in personam jurisdiction over the

Doe Company. The panel also held that it was fair,

reasonable and just to imply that an individual—who was

identified as the General Counsel for a firm in which the Doe

Company retained a significant ownership interest and who

stated that he could accept service for the Doe Company—

had authority to receive, at a United States address, service on

behalf of the Doe Company.

COUNSEL

Richard M. Strassberg (argued), James D. Gatta, and

Elizabeth S. David, Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, New

York; Andrew Kim, Goodwin Procter LLP, Washington,

D.C.; for Defendant-Appellant.

Adam A. Reeves (argued), William Frentzen, and Robert S.

Leach, Assistant United States Attorneys; Merry Jean Chan,

Chief, Appellate Section, Criminal Division; David L.

Anderson, United States Attorney; United States Attorney’s

Office, San Francisco, California; for Plaintiff-Appellee.

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 5

OPINION

W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

A federal grand jury has been investigating the acquisition

of one company by another. The acquired company, through

its officers and shareholders, is alleged to have provided

fraudulently misleading information about its true value,

leading the acquiring company to pay a substantially inflated

price. The grand jury has so far issued two indictments. The

grand jury issued subpoenas to a third company, Doe

Company (“the Company”), and to Pat Roe, a former officer

at the acquired company and a current partner at the

Company. The Company moved to quash the subpoenas.1

The district court denied the Company’s motion to quash

and ordered compliance by both the Company and by Pat

Roe. The Company has appealed that order (No. 19-10187).

The district court then ordered the Company and Roe to show

cause why they were not in contempt. Roe responded by

agreeing to produce the documents in Roe’s possession. The

Company declined to produce the documents in its

possession, and the district court held the Company in

contempt. The Company has also appealed that order (No.

19-10261). We consolidated the Company’s appeals and

stayed the district court’s enforcement order against Roe.

We conclude that we lack appellate jurisdiction to review

the district court’s enforcement order directed to Roe. We

dismiss that part of the appeal. We have jurisdiction to

review the district court’s enforcement orders directed to the

Notes

1
All documents and briefs in this matter have been filed under seal.

This opinion does not use the parties’ true names.

6 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

Company and holding the Company in contempt. We affirm

those orders.

I. Standard of Review

We review a district court’s denial of a motion to quash

a grand jury subpoena and its order of contempt sanctions for

an abuse of discretion. In re Grand Jury Subpoena, No. 16-

03-217, 875 F.3d 1179, 1183 (9th Cir. 2017). Underlying

factual findings are reviewed for clear error. Id. “In

reviewing decisions of the district court, we may affirm on

any basis supported by the record . . . .” In re Frontier

Props., Inc., 979 F.2d 1358, 1364 (9th Cir. 1992); see also

Schweiker v. Hogan, 457 U.S. 569, 585 n.24 (1982).

II. Enforcement Order Against Pat Roe

The Company seeks to bring an interlocutory appeal from

the part of the district court’s enforcement order that is

directed to Pat Roe. For the reasons that follow, we do not

have appellate jurisdiction.

We generally have jurisdiction to review only “appeals

from all final decisions of the district courts.” 28 U.S.C.

§ 1291. Pretrial discovery orders, including denials of

motions to quash grand jury subpoenas, are not final

decisions under § 1291. United States v. Ryan, 402 U.S. 530,

532–33 (1971). Absent certification by the district court, a

party seeking review must either seek mandamus, or disobey

the order and then appeal the resulting contempt citation.

See, e.g., Mohawk Indus., Inc. v. Carpenter, 558 U.S. 100,

110–12 (2009) (no appellate jurisdiction over a pretrial

discovery order seeking information claimed to be protected

by the attorney-client privilege); In re Grand Jury Subpoena

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 7

Issued to Bailin (“Bailin”), 51 F.3d 203, 205 (9th Cir. 1995)

(no appellate jurisdiction over denial of motion to quash a

subpoena until person subpoenaed refuses to comply and is

held in contempt).

The finality requirement is not a mere formality. It is

especially important in criminal cases, where interlocutory

appeals can impede the speedy and effective administration

of the criminal justice system. Ryan, 402 U.S. at 532–33.

“The appealability of the denial of a motion to quash is

particularly inappropriate in the grand jury setting.” In re

Grand Jury Subpoena Dated June 5, 1985, 825 F.2d 231, 236

(9th Cir. 1987). A grand jury may consider an extraordinarily

broad range of evidence, and “the scope of [its] inquiries is

not to be limited narrowly.” United States v. Calandra,

414 U.S. 338, 343 (1974); id. at 354–55 (grand jury may

consider illegally obtained evidence); Fed. R. Evid. 1101(d)

(Federal Rules of Evidence generally do not apply to grand

jury proceedings). Moreover, while the subpoena awaits

review, “targets are free, memories of other witnesses are

fading, evidence is disappearing, the grand jury may have

difficulty proceeding against other targets, and events may

escape scrutiny as the statute of limitations takes its toll.” In

re Klein, 776 F.2d 628, 631 (7th Cir. 1985)

A. Perlman

The Company argues that we have appellate jurisdiction

over its interlocutory appeal under the so-called Perlman

doctrine. See Perlman v. United States, 247 U.S. 7 (1918).

We disagree.

The Supreme Court has carved out a “narrow exception”

under Perlman for cases in which documents sought by the

8 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

grand jury are subject to a claim of privilege. Bailin, 51 F.3d

at 205. In Perlman, the trial court ordered the clerk of court,

who retained possession of Perlman’s documents from a

previous case, to produce the documents to a grand jury

investigating Perlman. Perlman appealed, claiming that

disclosure would violate, inter alia, his Fifth Amendment

privilege against self-incrimination. The Supreme Court

allowed the appeal on the ground that Perlman would

otherwise have been “powerless to avert the mischief of the

order.” Perlman, 247 U.S. at 13. As the Court later

explained, to have held otherwise in Perlman “would have

made the doctrine of finality a means of denying Perlman any

appellate review of his constitutional claim.” Cobbledick v.

United States, 309 U.S. 323, 328–29 (1940).

“We have interpreted Perlman to mean that a discovery

order directed at a disinterested third-party custodian of

privileged documents is immediately appealable because the

third party, presumably lacking a sufficient stake in the

proceeding, would most likely produce the documents rather

than submit to a contempt citation.” United States v. Griffin,

440 F.3d 1138, 1143 (9th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks

omitted). Because, as in Perlman, a person seeking to protect

privileged information in the hands of a third party cannot

expect that third party to submit to a contempt citation, that

person is “powerless to avert the mischief of the order” unless

an interlocutory appeal is available.

We have sometimes described the Perlman rule in

shorthand fashion, omitting recitation of the requirement that

the challenged order seeks privileged documents. We have

focused, instead, on the question whether the third party to

whom the subpoena is issued would be willing to risk

contempt. See In re Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Litig.,

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 9

801 F.3d 1072, 1076 (9th Cir. 2015)

(“The Perlman rule has

been formulated as providing a right of immediate appeal by

a party aggrieved by a district court discovery order whenever

the order requires a third party to produce evidence or

documents and that third party cannot be expected to go into

contempt merely to create a final appealable order.”); In re

Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces Tecum, 695 F.2d 363, 365 (9th

Cir. 1982); cf. Church of Scientology of Cal. v. United States,

506 U.S. 9, 18 n.11 (1992) (under Perlman, “a discovery

order directed at a disinterested third party is treated as an

immediately appealable final order”); United States v.

Amlani, 169 F.3d 1189, 1192 (9th Cir. 1999) (a third party

who is a former attorney, as distinct from a current attorney,

cannot be expected to risk a contempt citation).

Despite our abbreviated statements of the doctrine, the

rule under Perlman is that we may entertain interlocutory

appeals from orders enforcing grand jury subpoenas only

when they require production of materials that are claimed to

be privileged or otherwise legally protected from disclosure.

The vast majority of our cases applying Perlman involve

orders issued to attorneys seeking information protected by

the attorney-client privilege. Wright & Miller, 15B Federal

Practice and Procedure § 3914.23 (2d ed. 2020 update)

(noting that these comprise the “largest identifiable category”

of Perlman cases); see, e.g., United States v. Krane, 625 F.3d

568, 571–72 (9th Cir. 2010). Other cases allege other

evidentiary privileges. See, e.g., United States v. Gonzalez,

669 F.3d 974, 977 n.2 (9th Cir. 2012) (joint defense

privilege); Griffin, 440 F.3d at 1143 (marital communications

privilege); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 867 F.2d 562, 563

(9th Cir. 1989) (psychotherapist-patient privilege), abrogated

on other grounds by Jaffee v. Redmond, 518 U.S. 1 (1996).

Some cases, including Perlman, involve a constitutional

10 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

privilege. Harris v. United States, 413 F.2d 316, 317 (9th

Cir. 1969) (Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination). Finally, a few cases involve some other legal

claim against disclosure. See, e.g., In re Optical Disk Drive

Antitrust Litig., 801 F.3d at 1074, 1076 (information allegedly

protected under Fed. R. Crim. P. 6(e)); In re Grand Jury

Subpoena Served on Meserve, Mumper & Hughes, 62 F.3d

1222, 1223 (9th Cir. 1995) (information protected under court

order).

The subpoenaed documents need not actually be

privileged to warrant interlocutory review. A court may

properly assume jurisdiction under Perlman even if it later

concludes on the merits that the information is not actually

privileged. See, e.g., In re Grand Jury Subpoenas Duces

Tecum, 695 F.2d at 365 (reviewing under Perlman but

concluding attorney-client privilege did not protect

information on fee arrangements). The logic of Perlman

permits review in such cases, for if a document produced to

the grand jury is later held to have contained privileged

information, protection provided by the privilege will have

been irretrievably lost.

It is uncontested in the case before us that the information

in the documents held by Pat Roe is not privileged. The

Company notes, correctly, that in many cases we have

applied Perlman without addressing the privilege issue. The

Company therefore argues that there is no requirement that

the materials at issue be allegedly privileged for Perlman to

apply. The Company misreads our cases. Our failure to

mention a claim of privilege does not mean that it was not a

requirement. Quite the contrary. In virtually all of our

Perlman cases, there was no dispute that the information was

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 11

alleged to be privileged, which meant that we felt no need to

discuss the requirement of a claim of privilege.

More importantly, the privilege requirement explains why

Perlman exists to create interlocutory review in a context that

otherwise heavily disfavors it. A grand jury has “wide

latitude to inquire into violations of criminal law” and is

“generally . . . unrestrained” by procedural or evidentiary

rules that govern criminal trials. Calandra, 414 U.S. at 343.

As the Supreme Court has recognized, however, a claim of

privilege is one of the only non-procedural grounds on which

a subpoenaed individual may resist a grand jury subpoena.

Id. at 346. Perlman exists to protect that limited right. It

does not protect against any and all asserted “mischiefs”

resulting from a grand jury subpoena, but it does protect

against the specific harm of compelled disclosure to the grand

jury of information protected by a valid privilege. Because

an appeal after final judgment would come too late to remedy

that harm, Perlman permits immediate review in this narrow

case.

The Company invokes Perlman on the ground that it has

a “cognizable” “ownership interest” in the documents. In the

Company’s view, its ownership of the documents gives it the

right to conceal information the documents contain. An

ownership interest, standing alone, is not a sufficient defense

against disclosing information to a grand jury, whose

proceedings are “secre[t]” and “kept from the public eye,”

Douglas Oil Co. of Cal. v. Petrol Stops Nw., 441 U.S. 211,

218 n.9 (1979); see Fed. R. Crim. P. 6, and which considers

a range of evidence “generally . . . unrestrained by the

technical procedural and evidentiary rules governing the

conduct of criminal trials,” Calandra, 414 U.S. at 343;

contrast United States v. Hubbard, 650 F.2d 293, 311 n.67

12 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

(D.C. Cir. 1980) (reviewing claim where order sought public

disclosure of sealed information). The Company mistakenly

focuses on the “ownership interest” the petitioner had in

Perlman. That interest was relevant only insofar as it

involved the petitioner’s Fifth Amendment privilege against

self-incrimination. See Cobbledick, 309 U.S. at 328–29. The

Company makes no such claim here.

Under the Company’s argument, any company subject to

a grand jury investigation could cite an “ownership interest”

in documents subpoenaed from its employees, and could

thereby conceal from the grand jury information that might

reveal wrongdoing by the company. Accepting the

Company’s argument would expand Perlman far beyond the

“narrow exception” it created to the finality requirement.

Bailin, 51 F.3d at 205; In re Grand Jury Subpoena Served

Upon Niren, 784 F.2d 939, 942 (9th Cir. 1986) (per curiam)

(“[U]ntil the Supreme Court informs us that Perlman applies

to more than a ‘limited class of cases,’ it is not our

prerogative to enlarge the exception . . . .”) (quoting In re

Sealed Case, 655 F.2d 1298, 1302 (D.C. Cir. 1981)).

We recognize that Perlman was decided one hundred

years ago. But the Supreme Court has given us no reason to

suspect that it is no longer good law, or that its essential

contours have changed. See, e.g., Gravel v. United States,

408 U.S. 606, 608 n.1 (1972) (noting appeal proceeded under

Perlman because Senator intervenor could not expect third

parties to whom subpoenas were issued to protect privileges

under the Speech or Debate Clause); United States v. Nixon,

418 U.S. 683, 691 (1974) (discussing Perlman); Cobbledick,

309 U.S. at 328–29; see also Krane, 625 F.3d at 572–73

(holding Perlman remains good law after Mohawk Industries,

558 U.S. 100 (2009)). Our sister circuits generally

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 13

understand Perlman as we do, limiting it to claims of

privilege. As the Eighth Circuit has explained, “[t]he

[Perlman] exception is limited to an appeal by the privilege

holder.” United States v. Beltramea, 831 F.3d 1022, 1024

(8th Cir. 2016); see also FDIC v. Ogden Corp., 202 F.3d 454,

459–60 (1st Cir. 2000); United States v. Punn, 737 F.3d 1, 6

(2d Cir. 2013); In re Naranjo, 768 F.3d 332, 344 (4th Cir.

2014); Branch v. Phillips Petroleum Co., 638 F.2d 873, 878

n.3 (5th Cir. 1981); Holt-Orsted v. City of Dickson, 641 F.3d

230, 237–38 (6th Cir. 2011); United States v. Calandra,

706 F.2d 225, 228 (7th Cir. 1983)

(per curiam); In re Motor

Fuel Temperature Sales Practices Litig., 641 F.3d 470, 485

(10th Cir. 2011); In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 832 F.2d

554, 558–59 (11th Cir. 1987); In re Sealed Case, 754 F.2d

395, 399 (D.C. Cir. 1985).

Only the Third Circuit has read Perlman as requiring only

a disinterested third party, irrespective of privilege. In In re

Grand Jury (“Schmidt”), 619 F.2d 1022, 1025 (3d Cir. 1980),

an employer brought an interlocutory appeal of a denial of a

motion to quash grand jury subpoenas issued to its

employees, contending that the grand jury was being used for

an improper purpose. Id. Making no mention of privilege,

the Third Circuit held that it had jurisdiction because Perlman

permitted appeals in cases of third-party subpoenas. Id. The

Second Circuit has expressly disavowed Schmidt. See In re

Subpoenas to Local 478, Int’l Union of Operating Eng’rs &

Benefit Funds (“Local 478”), 708 F.2d 65, 72–73 (2d Cir.

1983); Punn, 737 F.3d at 6 (“The mere fact . . . that a movant

cannot himself precipitate immediate review through a

contempt proceeding, does not end the finality inquiry.”).

“Unlike motions to quash that seek to preserve privileges of

the movant against possible disclosure by a third-party

witness, and thereby to prevent immediate, irreparable harm,

14 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

motions that allege improper use of the grand jury . . .

ultimately seek to prevent trial prejudice.” Punn, 737 F.3d

at 9–10. We agree with the Second Circuit that harms

resulting from improper purpose, unlike harms resulting from

wrongful disclosure of privileged information, can later be

addressed at trial or on appeal. See id.

If we have been unclear in our prior cases in stating that

a claim of privilege is essential to a Perlman appeal, we

clarify today that it is. In seeking interlocutory review of a

court order enforcing a grand jury subpoena, an appellant

must assert a claim of evidentiary privilege or some other

legal claim specifically protecting against disclosure to the

grand jury. The appellant must claim a “right . . . to secrecy

of the transaction” that can be vindicated only through

interlocutory review. In re Subpoena to Testify Before Grand

Jury, 39 F.3d 973, 975 (9th Cir. 1994). Because the

Company makes no such claim, we do not have jurisdiction

under Perlman.

B. Alternate Grounds

Alternate grounds for appellate jurisdiction are not

available. The Company has not sought a writ of mandamus

under 28 U.S.C. § 1651. Mandamus is reserved for

“exceptional circumstances,” which we do not find here. In

re Nat’l Mortg. Equity Corp. Mortg. Pool Certificates Litig.,

821 F.2d 1422, 1425 (9th Cir. 1976). Finally, review is

unavailable under the general collateral order doctrine. See

Mohawk Indus., Inc., 558 U.S. at 114.

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 15

III. Enforcement Order Against the Company and

Contempt Citation

The Company appeals the district court’s orders denying

its motions to quash the subpoena and holding the Company

in contempt. The Company is based outside the United

States, and the grand jury subpoena was served on a non-

Company employee in the United States. The Company

argues that the district court lacked in personam jurisdiction

and that service of the subpoena was improper. We reject

both arguments.

A. In Personam Jurisdiction

The parties do not dispute that in the grand jury subpoena

context, the “reasonable probability” test adopted by the

Second and D.C. Circuits governs a determination of in

personam jurisdiction. See In re Marc Rich & Co., A.G.

(“Marc Rich”), 707 F.2d 663, 670 (2d Cir. 1983), cert. denied

463 U.S. 1215 (1983); In re Sealed Case, 832 F.2d 1268,

1274 (D.C. Cir. 1987), abrogated on other grounds by

Braswell v. United States, 487 U.S. 99 (1988). We agree with

our sister circuits that this is the proper standard.

Under this standard, the government need only show “that

there is a reasonable probability that ultimately it will succeed

in establishing the facts necessary for the exercise of

jurisdiction” over a nonresident alleged to have violated

federal criminal law. Marc Rich, 707 F.2d at 670. The

relevant forum is not the state in which the grand jury is

empaneled but “the entire United States,” which is itself

“injuriously affected” by the criminal offense. Id. “Under

such circumstances, . . . the occurrence of the offense itself is

sufficient to support a claim of jurisdiction, provided

16 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard has been

given.” Id. at 667–68.

The district court found that several people who had

profited from the sale of the acquired company used their

personal funds shortly thereafter to help found the Company.

An internal memorandum stated that the Company’s start-up

team—which included senior officials from the acquired

company whom the grand jury has already indicted—would

invest substantial amounts of their own money in the

Company. A Company employee also submitted an affidavit

stating that the Company was capitalized through equity

contributions.

The Company objects that the internal memorandum was

a draft document that was never implemented, and it relies on

an affidavit from a Company employee so stating. The

district court considered the record before it and found that

the affidavit did not override other evidence in the record.

We conclude that the district court did not clearly err in so

finding. In re Grand Jury Subpoena, 875 F.3d at 1183.

The district court also found that “the financial structure

of the entities at issue was enough to create a likelihood of

criminal conduct.” The government alleges that money from

the acquisition may have been laundered through the

Company, and later laundered again through what was

initially a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company (“the

Firm”). There is evidence in the record that the Company and

the Firm at one time shared the same office in the United

States, and that there is substantial overlap between the

employees of the Company and the Firm.

IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION 17

We conclude that, taken together, these findings

adequately support the district court’s determination that it

had in personam jurisdiction over the Company.

B. Service of Process

The district court also concluded that service of process

on the Company was proper. Until a specified month in

2018, the Company’s website listed its address as an office

suite at a particular address in the United States. Four days

into the following month, an FBI agent attempted to serve the

grand jury subpoena at this address. When at this address, the

FBI agent spoke with a particular individual, identified as the

General Counsel for the Firm, who accepted the papers and

stated that he “could accept service for [the Company].” At

that point, the Company no longer wholly owned the Firm,

but it retained a significant ownership stake. Within a month,

counsel for the Company contacted the United States

government regarding the subpoena. The Company objects

to service of process on the ground that the Firm is a distinct

entity from the Company, and that the General Counsel

worked for the Firm rather than the Company.

Service to a corporation “is not limited solely to officially

designated officers, managing agents, or agents appointed by

law for the receipt of process.” Direct Mail Specialists, Inc.

v. Eclat Computerized Techs., Inc., 840 F.2d 685, 688 (9th

Cir. 1988). Instead, service can be made “upon a

representative so integrated with the organization that he will

know what to do with the papers.” Id. (quoting Top Form

Mills, Inc. v. Sociedad Nationale Industria Applicazioni

Viscosa, 428 F. Supp. 1237, 1251 (S.D.N.Y. 1977)).

“Generally, service is sufficient when made upon an

individual who stands in such a position as to render it fair,

18 IN RE GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

reasonable and just to imply the authority on his part to

receive service.” Id. (same).

The General Counsel for the Firm was a representative

“so integrated with the [Company] that he [knew] what to do

with the papers.” He confirmed to the FBI agent that he

could receive process on behalf of the Company, and the

Company’s counsel contacted the government about the

papers shortly thereafter. See id. (“[A]ctual receipt of process

by the correct person may be a factor in finding process valid

when there are other factors that make process fair.”);

Henderson v. United States, 517 U.S. 654, 672 (1996) (“[T]he

core function of service is to supply notice of the pendency of

a legal action . . . .”). Under these circumstances, it is “fair,

reasonable and just to imply the authority” of the General

Counsel to receive service on behalf of the Company.

Conclusion

We dismiss for want of appellate jurisdiction the

Company’s appeal seeking review of the district court’s

enforcement order against Pat Roe. We affirm the district

court’s enforcement order and contempt citation against the

Company.

DISMISSED in part; AFFIRMED in part.

Case Details

Case Name: In Re Grand Jury Subpoenas
Court Name: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Date Published: Jul 27, 2020
Citations: 966 F.3d 991; 19-10187
Docket Number: 19-10187
Court Abbreviation: 9th Cir.
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