Federal Deposit Insurance v. Cabassa

539 F. Supp. 1, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17283
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedNovember 10, 1980
DocketCiv. No. 80-1405
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 539 F. Supp. 1 (Federal Deposit Insurance v. Cabassa) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico 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. Cabassa, 539 F. Supp. 1, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17283 (prd 1980).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

PEREZ-GIMENEZ, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court for disposition of defendants’ motion to stay proceedings. A brief statement of the case will help in defining the question presented.

The action is brought by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to recover the principal and accrued interest of fourteen promissory notes executed by the defendants, husband and wife.1 Prior to March 31,1978, the Banco Crédito y Ahorro Ponceño (Bank) was a banking institution organized and existing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. On that date the Secretary of the Treasury of Puerto Rico (the Secretary) determined that the Bank was in unsound financial condition and insolvent. The Secretary took over the management and administration of the Bank and tendered to the FDIC the appointment as receiver of the Bank, in accordance with Article 30 of the Banking Law of Puerto Rico. P.R.Laws Ann., Title 7, Section 201. The FDIC accepted appointment as receiver of the Bank as tendered by the Secretary. Thereafter, the FDIC, in its corporate capacity, purchased from the receiver certain assets of the Bank, and alleges that the promissory notes comprising the claim in this action were among those assets. The defendants deny knowledge or information as to whether the notes were so acquired, but they do admit to having executed the fourteen promissory notes referred to in the amended complaint. They also deny the amount alleged for daily accrual of interest, and specifically aver that according to information provided to them the amount is $0.20 per day less than shown in the amended complaint.

The findings of the Secretary, as well as his actions, including the appointment of the FDIC, were approved by the Superior [2]*2Court of Puerto Rico.2 That court also approved the acquisition by the FDIC in its corporate capacity of those assets of the Bank held by the receiver and not purchased by certain other banks. The procedure followed has been approved in other jurisdictions. FDIC v. Ashley, 585 F.2d 157 (6 Cir., 1978).

The motion under consideration is based on the fact that the former directors of the Bank filed an action in the Superior Court of Puerto Rico3 in which they attack the legality and validity of the action taken by the Secretary. Defendants summarize their argument as follows:

“Since the determination of the legality, correctness, and validity of the appointment by the Secretary of the Treasury of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico of the FDIC as receiver, and the legality, correctness, and validity of its sale and purchase to the FDIC as a corporate entity are actually subjudice (sic) and pending resolution before the Superior Court of Puerto Rico ... the interests of justice, of judicial economy, the convenience of the parties and the principle of comity . . . (require that) ... a stay of proceedings be granted.

The power of this Court to grant a stay is admitted by FDIC and discussion of the numerous cases on which defendants rely to establish this proposition is unnecessary. The existence of the power, however, does not necessarily require its exercise. In Landis v. North American Co., 299 U.S. 248, 57 S.Ct. 163, 81 L.Ed. 153, cited by defendants here in support of their motion, the Supreme Court observed that “... the suppliant for a stay must make out a clear case of hardship or inequity in being required to go forward, if there is even a fair possibility that the stay for which he prays will work damage to someone else.” Id. at 255, 57 S.Ct., at 166.

The most recent pronouncement on the subject by the Supreme Court is complicated by the fact that it involved a mandamus proceeding which the Court distinguished from an interlocutory appeal. Will v. Calvert Fire Ins. Co., 437 U.S. 655, 98 S.Ct. 2552, 57 L.Ed.2d 504 (1978). The observation was pointedly made that “(w)here a matter is committed to the discretion of a district court, it cannot be said that a litigant’s right to a particular result is ‘clear and indisputable’,” id. at 666, 98 S.Ct., at 2559, which is the standard for issuance of a writ of mandamus, id. at 662, 98 S.Ct., at 2557. The precise import of the Will case is further complicated by the opinion of Mr. Justice Blackmun that the “Court of Appeals should have done no more than require reconsideration of the case by Judge Will in light of Colorado River [Water Conservation Dist. v. U.S., 424 U.S. 800, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 47 L.Ed.2d 483].” Id. at 668, 98 S.Ct., at 2560. It was this concurring vote for reversal which determined the result. It is noteworthy that the only issue which could not be concurrently resolved by both the state and federal courts in Will was not stayed by the order entered. Id. at 666, 98 S.Ct., at 2559.

Both Brillhart v. Excess Insurance Co., 316 U.S. 491, 62 S.Ct. 1173, 86 L.Ed. 1620 (1942); and Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. U.S., 424 U.S. 800, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976), dealt with dismissals. Nevertheless, these cases were discussed in the Will case, which dealt with a stay order, without reference to this distinction. The guidance given by those cases is applicable here.

The first tenet of Brillhart is that “(gratuitous interference with the orderly and comprehensive disposition of a state court litigation should be avoided.” 316 U.S., at 495, 62 S.Ct., at 1176. No such interference [3]*3is here possible since the primary issues in this case are not present in the state court case. This determination also responds to the second instruction of Brillhart that “a district court ... should ascertain whether the questions in controversy between the parties to the federal suit .. . can better be settled in the proceedings pending in the state court”, 316 U.S., at 495, 62 S.Ct., at 1176. Here the state court proceedings involve issues and parties not present in the case before this Court. The specific factors listed by the Supreme Court in Brillhart do not require further investigation here due to the completely different nature of the two proceedings.

The Colorado River case gives even less support for a stay here. Abstention was held improper there although a direct clash between federal and state court rulings was possible. On the issue of wise judicial administration, the court there observed that “the circumstances permitting the dismissal of a federal suit due to the presence of concurrent state proceedings for reasons of wise judicial administration are considerably more limited than the circumstances appropriate for abstention.”, 424 U.S., at 818, 96 S.Ct., at 1246.

The basis of defendants’ motion here is really FDIC v. American Bank, 558 F.2d 711

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Klayman v. Blackburne-Rigsby
District of Columbia, 2021

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
539 F. Supp. 1, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17283, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/federal-deposit-insurance-v-cabassa-prd-1980.