Independent Bankers Ass'n of America v. Clarke

736 F. Supp. 1021, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5641, 1990 WL 61076
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Missouri
DecidedMay 4, 1990
DocketNos. 89-4027-CV-C-9, 89-4029-CV-C-5-9
StatusPublished

This text of 736 F. Supp. 1021 (Independent Bankers Ass'n of America v. Clarke) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Independent Bankers Ass'n of America v. Clarke, 736 F. Supp. 1021, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5641, 1990 WL 61076 (W.D. Mo. 1990).

Opinion

ORDER REAFFIRMING PREVIOUS ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BARTLETT, District Judge.

On January 26, 1989, the Comptroller of the Currency (Comptroller) approved the applications of First National Bank and Trust Company, Columbia, Missouri (FNB), to establish two branch offices outside its home county. In ruling on these applications, the Comptroller used a functional definition of the term “state bank” and concluded that Missouri savings and loan associations are “state banks” within the meaning of Section 36(c) of the McFadden Act because they are engaged in “banking business” under the authority of Missouri law.

On January 27, 1989, plaintiffs Independent Bankers Association of America, Missouri Independent Bankers Association and the Calloway Bank (IBAA plaintiffs) and the State of Missouri filed complaints for declaratory relief, alleging that the functional approach taken by the Comptroller violated 12 U.S.C. § 36(c). Plaintiffs also asserted that the Comptroller’s conclusion that Missouri savings and loans are actually engaged in the banking business was arbitrary and capricious in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A).

On June 30, 1989, I issued a memorandum opinion agreeing with the Comptroller’s functional definition of the term “state bank” in 12 U.S.C. § 36(c). 716 F.Supp. 1238. I concluded that “Congress intended to include within the definition of ‘State bank’ any corporation or institution carrying on the banking business regardless of the title a state gave the institution.” Memorandum Opinion at 11 (emphasis in original). I also decided that the Comptroller’s finding that Missouri savings and loan associations actually perform “banking business” for the purposes of 12 U.S.C. § 36(c) was supported by the administrative record and was not arbitrary and capricious. Id. at 13.

In the June 30, 1989, opinion, I requested additional briefing on the question of whether Missouri law satisfies the requirement of 12 U.S.C. § 36(c)(2) that statewide branching must be permitted “by language specifically granting such authority affirmatively and not merely by implication or recognition____” After additional briefing, I issued an order on November 15, 1989, holding that the Missouri branching statute meets the requirements of Section 36(c)(2). Accordingly, I granted defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and denied plaintiffs’ request to issue an order enjoining the establishment of the branch banks in Cole County and Callaway County, Missouri. On November 20, 1989, a final judgment was entered by the Clerk of the Court granting defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment and denying plaintiffs’ requests for declaratory and injunctive relief.

On December 7, 1989, the IBAA plaintiffs, pursuant to Rules 59(e) and 60(b), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, filed a Motion to Reconsider Order Granting Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiffs request that I

(a) reconsider and vacate [my] Order granting defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and
(b) reconsider and grant plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment, or, in the alternative, to vacate the First National Bank & Trust Company branch approvals and remand this matter to defendant The Comptroller of the Currency with instructions that he reconsider his approvals.

This motion was based “upon the ground that the passage of the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement [1023]*1023Act of 1989 (‘FIRREA’), adopted August 9, 1989, has negated certain of the basic premises underlying the Court’s Order, justifying relief therefrom.” On December 7, 1989, the State of Missouri also filed, pursuant to Rules 59(e) and 60(b), a Motion to Reconsider Order Granting Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

On January 12, 1990, the Comptroller opposed plaintiffs’ motions arguing first that plaintiffs have not satisfied the requirements of either Rule 59(e) or Rule 60(b). The Comptroller also argued that:

The provisions of FIRREA provide absolutely no basis for setting aside the Comptroller’s decision, upheld by this Court, that Missouri savings and loan associations are engaging in the banking business within the meaning of Section 36 of the federal branching statute. 12 U.S.C. § 36. FIRREA makes no change to the federal branching statute. Moreover, contrary to plaintiffs’ contentions, the provisions of FIRREA do not prohibit savings and loan associations (S & L’s or thrifts) from offering the core banking functions relied upon by the Comptroller in reaching his decision. While FIRREA somewhat modifies the level of commercial lending in which an S & L may engage, it does not significantly restrict such activities below the level previously allowed.

Defendant Comptroller of the Currency’s Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration at 2-3.

On January 17, 1990, FNB adopted the Memorandum in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration submitted by the defendant Comptroller of the Currency. The IBAA plaintiffs filed a Reply on January 19, 1990.

Plaintiffs’ motions for reconsideration were filed more than ten days after the entry of judgment and do not meet the jurisdictional requirement of Rule 59(e) that “[a] motion to alter or amend the judgment shall be served not later than 10 days after entry of the judgment.” In their Reply, the IBAA plaintiffs withdraw Rule 59(e) as a basis for reconsideration. Plaintiffs also argue that relief from the judgment is warranted under either Rule 60(b)(5) or (6). Plaintiffs' January 14,1990, Reply at 3-7.

Under Rule 60(b),

a district court has broad discretion to grant relief from a final judgment or order. “[Rule 60(b) ] is ‘properly invoked where there are extraordinary circumstances, or where the judgment may work an extreme and. undue hardship,’ and ‘should be liberally construed when substantial justice will thus be served.’ ”

Mohammed v. Sullivan, 866 F.2d 258, 260 (8th Cir.1989) citing Matarese v. LeFevre, 801 F.2d 98, 106 (2d Cir.1986) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 908, 107 S.Ct. 1353, 94 L.Ed.2d 523 (1987).

If, as plaintiffs assert, the enactment of FIRREA “dramatically changed certain of the fundamental premises upon which the Comptroller relied in approving the branch applications of defendant First National Bank and Trust Company,” my order granting defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment that did not refer to FIRREA could well be wrong.

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736 F. Supp. 1021, 1990 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 5641, 1990 WL 61076, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/independent-bankers-assn-of-america-v-clarke-mowd-1990.