Gunter v. Hutcheson

492 F. Supp. 546
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedMay 12, 1980
DocketCiv. A. C76-1702
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 492 F. Supp. 546 (Gunter v. Hutcheson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gunter v. Hutcheson, 492 F. Supp. 546 (N.D. Ga. 1980).

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ORDER OF COURT

MOYE, Chief Judge.

This action is one of many to arise out of the failure of the Hamilton National Bank of Chattanooga (HNB/C). On December 31,1974, the plaintiffs purchased 61% of the stock of the Hamilton Bank and Trust Company of Atlanta (HB&T/A) for $5.5 million from defendant Theodore M. Hutcheson. The Gunters allege that during the negotiations preceding the stock purchase some of the defendants caused fraudulent misrepresentations concerning the financial condition of HN&T/A to be made to the Gunters. These alleged misrepresentations include, among others, the following:

* * * * * *
(b) The Chattanooga Bank would leave seven million dollars in certificates of deposit in the Atlanta Bank for at least one year from the Gunters’ acquisition of the stock;
(c) The Atlanta Bank had and would continue to have a federal funds line of at least one million dollars ($1,000,000) through the Chattanooga Bank;
* # * * * *
(f) The Atlanta Bank was projected to make five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per year, and Mr. and Mrs. Gunter would make enough in dividends from the Atlanta Bank to pay interest on the notes; and
(g) The interest on notes given by Mr. and Mrs. Gunter would be deferred until January, 1977, and upon the giving of a balance sheet showing the separate assets and liabilities of Mr. Gunter, apart from those of his wife, new notes would be substituted for notes to be given at the closing of the Gunters’ purchase of the stock, and those new notes would be payable by Mr. Gunter only. The new notes would provide for interest payments only for the first two years, with principal to be payable thereafter over a ten year period at ten percent of principal per year for seven years and the remaining thirty percent of principal in the last year.

Amended Complaint, ¶ 16(b), (c), (f), (g). These alleged misrepresentations were not in writing, were not executed by the HNB/C, were not approved by the Board of Directors of the HNB/C, and were not official records of the HNB/C.

In order to finance the acquisition of the HB&T/A stock, the Gunters borrowed $5.5 million from HNB/C, giving HNB/C two notes in the original principal amounts of $2.5 million and $3 million and securing those notes with the HB&T/A stock. Only the $3 million note is involved here.

On February 16, 1976, the Comptroller of the Currency declared the HNB/C insolvent and appointed the FDIC as receiver. The FDIC in its capacity as insurer may adopt either of two procedures when faced with a bank failure. It may arrange for payment of insured deposits and then liquidate the bank’s assets over a period of time, or alternatively, assist the receiver in arranging what is commonly known as a “purchase and assumption” transaction. The latter procedure usually enables the FDIC to minimize the losses to its deposit insurance fund, avoid the disruption of a payout, and provide maximum protection to depositors of the failed bank. In the case of the failure of the HNB/C, the FDIC determined to use the purchase and assumption procedure in order to achieve the aforementioned goals. Miailovich affidavit ¶¶ 2, 4, 6; Agreement of Sale between FDIC as receiver and FDIC as corporate insurer (Exhibit B to Miailovich affidavit) (hereinafter Agreement of Sale) pp. 1-2.

[550]*550The adoption of the purchase and assumption procedure required the FDIC to find a bank willing to assume the liabilities of the failed bank when paid a compensating amount of assets. Although the transaction was effected quickly to maintain the “going concern value” of the failed bank, the liabilities of HNB/C exceeded its assets by $70 million — $384 million of liabilities as compared to $314 million of assets. To obtain the right to purchase the HNB/C liabilities, First Tennessee National Bank (FTNB) bid approximately $16 million, thus reducing the net liabilities-assets discrepancy to approximately $54 million. The FDIC in its capacity as insurer may, pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 1823(e), provide financial assistance to the receiver to facilitate a purchase and assumption, and in this case the FDIC agreed to pay the receiver $54 million. Miailovich affidavit ¶¶ 2, 4, 6.

In order to effect the purchase and assumption with the promptness necessary to ensure the retention of the going concern value of the failed bank’s assets, the purchasing bank cannot immediately examine the loans of the failed bank to determine whether they are of acceptable quality. Miailovich affidavit ¶ 7. The purchaser is thus given a period of time in which to examine the loans and to return to the receiver any unacceptable loans. Id.; Purchase and Assumption Agreement between First Tennessee National Bank and the FDIC as receiver (Exhibit A to Miailovich affidavit) (hereinafter Purchase and Assumption Agreement) § 3.1(c). One of the means by which the FDIC as corporate insurer attempts to effectuate the aforementioned goals of a purchase and assumption is by agreeing to acquire from the receiver any returned assets, Miailovich affidavit ¶ 7, and in this case it did acquire the Gunter note from the receiver for $3,220,794.50 after it was returned by FTNB. Agreement of Sale § 1.1. When the FDIC acquired the Gunter note in its corporate capacity, it had no actual knowledge of any violations of the securities laws. Miailovich affidavit ¶ 9.

The plaintiffs, William L. and Camille S. Gunter, seek rescission and damages for alleged fraud in connection with their purchase of stock in the HB&T/A; against the FDIC, the Gunters seek only rescission. Plaintiffs have attempted to state claims under the following theories: (1) Count I— Securities Exchange Act § 10(b), 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b); Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5,17 C.F.R. § 240.10b-5; and Exchange Act § 29, 15 U.S.C. § 78cc; (2) Count II — 1933 Securities Act § 17(a), 15 U.S.C. § 77q; (3) Count III — Ga.Code Ann. §§ 97-112(a) and 97-114; (4) Count IV— Ga.Code Ann. §§ 105-301, 302, and 304; and (5) Count V — common law fraud and deceit. The FDIC has counterclaimed for payment on the $3 million note given by the Gunters to HNB/C (and now held by the FDIC) to finance the purchase of stock. The case is presently before the Court on the motion of defendant FDIC for summary judgment with respect to plaintiffs’ claims and defendant FDIC’s counterclaim. For purposes of this motion the FDIC admits plaintiffs’ allegations of fraud.

Defendant FDIC advances two legal theories in support of its motion for summary judgment. First, the FDIC argues that under 12 U.S.C. § 1823(e) it may disregard any agreement which the Gunters seek to enforce against the FDIC.

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492 F. Supp. 546, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gunter-v-hutcheson-gand-1980.