Marshack v. Tapager (In Re Motivation Resources, Inc.)

158 B.R. 184, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1271, 24 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 983, 1993 WL 337543
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. California
DecidedJuly 23, 1993
DocketBankruptcy No. SA 90-08948 JR, Adv. No. SA 93-1026 JR
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 158 B.R. 184 (Marshack v. Tapager (In Re Motivation Resources, Inc.)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Marshack v. Tapager (In Re Motivation Resources, Inc.), 158 B.R. 184, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1271, 24 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 983, 1993 WL 337543 (Cal. 1993).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

JOHN E. RYAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

INTRODUCTION

On May 25, 1993, Defendant, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”) as receiver for Mission Viejo National Bank, and the Plaintiff, Richard Mar-shack, Chapter 7 trustee for Motivation Resources, Inc. (“Trustee”), appeared before this court on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s Second Amended Complaint. Counsel for the Defendant argued that when the FDIC acts as a receiver for a failed financial institution, it stands in the shoes of that institution; therefore, the FDIC as receiver possesses no immunity and is not a governmental unit as defined by § 106(a) of the Bankruptcy Code (the “Code”). I took this matter under submission to decide specifically whether the FDIC, when acting in its capacity as receiver, is a governmental unit subject to § 106(a).

JURISDICTION

This court has jurisdiction over this adversary proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1334(a) (1991) (the district courts shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction of all cases under title 11), 28 U.S.C. § 157(a) (1991) (authorizing the district courts to refer all title 11 cases and proceedings to the bankruptcy judges for the district) and General Order No. 266, dated October 9, 1984 (referring all title 11 cases and proceedings to the bankruptcy judges for the Central District of California). This matter is a core proceeding pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(F) and (H).

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On December 14, 1990, Motivation Resources, Inc. filed its voluntary petition under Chapter 7. On February 28, 1992, Mission Viejo National Bank (the “Bank”) was declared insolvent and ordered liquidated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The FDIC was appointed receiver for the Bank. In accordance with its obligations under 12 U.S.C. § 1821(d)(3)(B), on March 5, 1992, April 5, 1992, and May 5, 1992, the FDIC placed a Notice to All Persons Having Claims Against Mission Viejo National Bank (the “Notice”) in the Los Angeles Times. The Notice advised all potential claimants that the last date for filing any claims against Defendant was June 5, 1992.

*186 On February 4, 1993, Defendant received a proof of claim in the amount of $402,-642.00 plus interest from Motivation Resources, Inc. On January 14, 1993, Trustee filed a complaint seeking to recover alleged preferential payments and/or fraudulent transfers to the Bank during the period February 1990 through June 1990. Trustee filed his first amended complaint on January 27, 1993 and his second amended complaint on February 11, 1993.

On March 24, 1993, Defendant filed its Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Complaint. Defendant asserted that Trustee’s complaint should be dismissed because this court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. Defendant argued that when it acts in its receiver capacity, as opposed to its corporate capacity, it is not a governmental unit; therefore, § 106(a) does not apply to the FDIC in its role as receiver, and Trustee is obligated to comply with the mandatory claims determination process requirements of the Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (“FIRREA”), 12 U.S.C. §§ 1811-1833e.

DISCUSSION

In In re Town & Country Home Nursing Services 963 F.2d 1146, 1155 (9th Cir.1991), the Ninth Circuit, agreeing with the Bankruptcy Appellate Panel (“BAP”), held that § 106(a) 1 gives the bankruptcy court an independent basis for jurisdiction over any governmental unit that has waived its sovereign immunity by filing either a formal or informal proof of claim. “[T]he BAP found section 106(a) to be an independent grant of jurisdiction to the bankruptcy court regardless of the applicability of other statutes. The BAP’s conclusions are consistent with our prior decisions.” Id.

The FDIC, hoping to circumvent the expansive jurisdictional implications of Town & Country, has maintained that when it is acting as a receiver it is not a governmental unit. Counsel for Defendant correctly noted that it is uniformly accepted that the FDIC operates in two separate and distinct legal capacities as corporate insurer of accounts and as receiver for failed financial institutions. FDIC v. Bernstein, 944 F.2d 101, 106 (2d Cir.1991); FDIC v. Condit, 861 F.2d 853, 856 (5th Cir.1988); FDIC v. Hatmaker, 756 F.2d 34, 36 (6th Cir.1985); FDIC v. Braemoor Associations, 686 F.2d 550, 552-53 (7th Cir.1982), ce rt. denied, 461 U.S. 927, 103 S.Ct. 2086, 77 L.Ed.2d 297 (1983); Gunter v. Hutcheson, 674 F.2d 862, 874 (11th Cir.1982); FDIC v. Godshall, 558 F.2d 220, 222 (4th Cir.1977); FDIC v. Glickman, 450 F.2d 416, 418 (9th Cir.1971); Freeling v. Sebring, 296 F.2d 244, 245 (10th Cir.1961). Defendant further asserted that Congress never intended to confer the status of a federal agency, nor the immunity of such an agency, on the FDIC when it is acting in its capacity as receiver. Defendant further proposed that while Congress did make express, limited provisions for agency status in a few instances, 2 as a whole, Congress did not intend for the FDIC as receiver to be a federal agency. I disagree with Defendant on this second assertion.

Code § 101 provides the definitions for the terms used throughout the Code. Section 101(27) states:

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158 B.R. 184, 1993 Bankr. LEXIS 1271, 24 Bankr. Ct. Dec. (CRR) 983, 1993 WL 337543, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/marshack-v-tapager-in-re-motivation-resources-inc-cacb-1993.