Federal Deposit Insurance v. Berry

659 F. Supp. 1475, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5806
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Tennessee
DecidedMay 8, 1987
DocketNo. CIV 1-85-62
StatusPublished
Cited by42 cases

This text of 659 F. Supp. 1475 (Federal Deposit Insurance v. Berry) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Federal Deposit Insurance v. Berry, 659 F. Supp. 1475, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5806 (E.D. Tenn. 1987).

Opinion

ORDER

VINING, District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia.

This order is being entered in response to several motions filed in the instant case all of which are to some degree intertwined. Among these are:

(1) motion to strike defenses and dismiss counterclaims as to each defendant filed by the plaintiff Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC),

(2) motions and amended motions for leave to file third party complaints against the FDIC in its capacity as receiver of United American Bank-Hamilton County (UAB/HC) and United American Bank-Knoxville (UAB/K), and against the United States of America, filed by defendants Terry Bridgeman (Bridgeman), Wilbert P. Rundles (Rundles), James C. Berry (Berry), James E. Hall (Hall), Curtis A. Swift (Swift), Reuben Strickland (Strickland), and Theodore L. Lamb (Lamb),

(3) motion to dismiss third-party complaints and amended and restated third-party complaints of defendants Berry, Hall, Robert G. Demos (Demos), William Raider (Raider) and Clifton Ward (Ward) filed by the FDIC in its capacity as receiver of UAB/K and UAB/HC, and

(4) motions for leave to amend answers filed by defendants Berry, Hall, Swift, Strickland, Rundles, Bridgeman, and Larry Hunter (Hunter).

[1478]*1478FACTS

The United American Bank of Hamilton County (UAB/HC) was a Tennessee state bank insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC in its corporate capacity under 12 U.S.C. § 1811, et seq., as insurer of the deposits of UAB/HC did periodic examinations of the bank prior to its closing in 1983. These examination reports were provided to bank officials and board members after completion of the examinations. However, the purpose of the examinations was to protect the depositor insurance fund of the FDIC.

Jacob F. Butcher (Butcher) purchased a majority stock interest in UAB/HC on May 27, 1981. At that time he also became chairman of the board of directors. All named defendants served as board members during the time Butcher had controlling interest of UAB/HC. Defendants Rundles and Lamb served as president at some time during Butcher’s tenure with defendants Hunter and Bridgeman serving as executive vice president and vice president and vice president-commercial loans, respectively. The executive committee of UAB/HC during Butcher’s reign consisted of Butcher, G.W. Ridenhour, Jr., (Ridenhour), Lamb, Rundles, and Berry.

During the period in which Butcher had control over UAB/HC various loan participations were purchased by UAB/HC from United American Bank — Knoxville (UAB/K), Butcher’s flagship bank which went into receivership on February 14, 1983. These participations are the basis of defendants’ third-party claims against the FDIC in its capacity as receiver of UAB/K and UAB/HC.

Due to the financial condition of UAB/HC, the Commissioner of Banking of the State of Tennessee pursuant to TCA § 45-2-1502 on May 27, 1983, took exclusive custody and control of the property and affairs of UAB/HC and appointed the FDIC as receiver (FDIC/Receiver) of the bank. The FDIC/Receiver then sold the deposits, certain assets, and certain liabilities to Union Planters National Bank of Memphis for a premium in excess of $5 million in order to keep the UAB/HC banking business as a going concern. To facilitate this purchase and assumption, FDIC/Receiver and the FDIC in its corporate capacity (FDIC/Corporation) entered into a separate but related agreement pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 1823(c)(2)(A) whereby FDIC/Corporation purchased the remaining assets of UAB/HC which included all contracts, rights, claims, demands, and choses of action whatsoever not purchased by Union Planters. The price paid by FDIC/Corporation for these assets was in excess of $5 million.

On January 22, 1985, as a result of the closing of UAB/HC the FDIC/Corporation pursuant to the transfer of assets and assignments it received from FDIC/Receiver filed suit against the officers and directors of UAB/HC for breach of statutory, contractual and common law duties owed by the defendants to UAB/HC requesting damages in the amount of $10 million. Due to the fact that both G.W. Ridenhour, Jr. and Jacob F. Butcher were in bankruptcy proceedings at the time suit was filed by the FDIC/Corporation neither were named defendants in the instant suit.

MOTION TO STRIKE

Motions to strike are authorized under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f). Among the purposes contemplated by Rule 12(f) are a determination by the court of the legal sufficiency of defenses advanced in the pleadings, the saving of time and money where defenses presented confuse the issues in the case and elimination of issues where as a matter of law no set of facts will support the issues subject to the motion to strike. Sun Insurance Company of New York v. Diversified Engineers, Inc., 240 F.Supp. 606 (D.C.Mont.1965); Goldberg v. Amalgamated Local Union No. 355, 202 F.Supp. 844 (E.D.N.Y.1962); Kinnar-Weed Corp. v. Humble Oil and Refining Co., 214 F.2d 891 (5th Cir.1954), cert. denied 348 U.S. 912, 75 S.Ct. 292, 99 L.Ed. 715; Anchor Hocking Corp. v. Jack sonville Electric Authority, 419 F.Supp. 992 (D.C.Fla.1976).

Rule 12(f) provides:

Upon motion made by a party before responding to a pleading or, if no responsive pleading is permitted by these rules, [1479]*1479upon motion made by a party within 20 days after the service of the pleading upon him or upon the court’s own initiative at any time, the court may order stricken from any pleading any insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent or scandalous matter.

Although motions to strike are generally not favored and should be used sparingly, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. United States, 201 F.2d 819 (6th Cir.1958); Daugherty v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 85 F.R.D. 693 (N.D.Ga.1980); United States v. Firestone Tire & Rubber Co., 374 F.Supp. 431 (N.D.Ohio 1974), as Rule 12 iterates, the motion should be granted where the defenses to be stricken are insufficient as a matter of law, Anchor Hocking Corp., supra, immaterial in that they “have no essential or important relationship to the claim for relief or the defenses being pleaded,” Fleischer v. A.A.P., Inc., 180 F.Supp. 717, 721 (D.C.N.Y.1959), or are impertinent in that the “matter consists of statements that do not pertain, and are not necessary, to the issues in question.” Commonwealth Edison Co. v. Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Co., 245 F.Supp. 889 (D.C.Ill, 1965), rev’d in part, aff'd in part on other grounds, 323 F.2d 412 (7th Cir.1963), cert. denied, 376 U.S. 939, 84 S.Ct. 794, 11 L.Ed.2d 659. The granting of a motion to strike is within the discretion of the court. If the court determines the defenses to be insufficient as a matter of law, immaterial, or impertinent the granting of a motion to strike is appropriate.

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Bluebook (online)
659 F. Supp. 1475, 1987 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-deposit-insurance-v-berry-tned-1987.