United States Court of Appeals,
Fifth Circuit.
No. 95-50549.
Walter W. McALLISTER, III, Gerry Solcher and Robert Cuyler,
Plaintiffs-Appellants,
v.
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, as Receiver for San
Antonio Savings Association, F.A., Defendant-Appellee.
July 16, 1996.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Texas.
Before REYNALDO G. GARZA, JONES and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
REYNALDO G. GARZA, Circuit Judge:
Plaintiffs filed suit against the Resolution Trust
Corporation, as receiver for San Antonio Savings Association,
F.S.B., claiming that they were entitled to assets contained in the
Savings Association's retirement trust. The district court
dismissed plaintiffs' complaint for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction. Plaintiffs appeal from that dismissal. For the
reasons stated below, we REVERSE the district court's dismissal,
and REMAND this case for further proceedings in accordance with
this opinion.
I.
FACTS
The plaintiffs worked as executive officers at San Antonio
Savings Association. As executive officers, they participated in
a supplemental executive retirement plan, the assets of which were
placed in an umbrella trust. The assets in the trust were to be
1
used to pay retirement benefits to executive officers. However,
the trust assets could also be used to pay creditors if the bank
became insolvent.
San Antonio Savings Association began having financial
difficulties in the late 1980's. It was placed in conservatorship
in February 1989, and was then placed in receivership in July 1989.
The Resolution Trust Corporation1 ("RTC") reconstituted San Antonio
Savings Association by chartering San Antonio Savings Association,
FA on July 13, 1989. San Antonio Savings Association, FA was
placed in RTC receivership in March 1990.
Each time the RTC reconstituted what was San Antonio Savings
Association, it asked plaintiffs to continue working as executives
for the institution. Plaintiffs claim that in February 1990,
during a meeting with RTC officials, an RTC accounting specialist
told them that they would be paid in full for working for the
institution.
In December 1991, the RTC notified plaintiffs that they had
until February 27, 1992 to file proofs of claims for their
retirement plan benefits. The notices sent to plaintiffs stated
that the supplemental executive retirement plan was a
"non-qualified plan;" that is, participants in the plan would
remain unsecured general creditors of San Antonio Savings
Association, FA.
1
In accordance with 12 U.S.C. § 1441a(m)(1), the RTC
apparently ceased operations on December 31, 1995. Its statutory
successor is the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC").
Therefore, we have substituted the FDIC for the RTC in the
caption of this case.
2
Plaintiffs filed proofs of claims with the RTC on February 25,
1992. Plaintiffs contend that the RTC lost some of their proofs of
claims, and that the RTC extended the time in which it had to
consider their claims by writing them a letter asking them to
refile the claims.2 The RTC took no action on plaintiffs claims
until March 22, 1993, when it issued "Receiver's Certificates"
allowing plaintiffs' claims in full. The Receiver's Certificates
did not mention the claims' priority. However, the cover letter
that accompanied the Receiver's Certificates stated that "payment
of depositor claims receive a preference.... All claims of the
depositors must be paid in their entirety before any payment can be
made on the claims of the general trade creditors."
After receiving the Receiver's Certificates, plaintiffs
attempted to determine whether their claims would be paid in full;
that is, whether the retirement plan trust's assets were greater
than the sum of the claims made against the institution. RTC
officials gave plaintiffs information that led them to believe that
there were only approximately $100,000 in claims against the trust,
compared to trust assets of several million dollars. Thus, based
on the information provided by RTC officials, plaintiffs believed
that their claims would be paid in full.
On January 3, 1994, after hearing nothing from the RTC for
over five months, plaintiff Robert Cuyler ("Cuyler") called the
Dallas RTC office to obtain current information on the status of
2
The plaintiffs were unable to produce this letter, but
claim that they would have been able to produce it had the
district court allowed them to conduct discovery on the issue.
3
plaintiffs' claims. Marty Smith, who worked at the Dallas RTC
office, told Cuyler that the RTC no longer had a record of San
Antonio Savings Association, FA because the institution had been
sold to Bank of America. Later in January, an RTC official named
Mr. Crone informed Cuyler that the RTC, as receiver, was still
selling San Antonio Savings Association, FA assets, and that he
would relay any additional information to Cuyler as soon as he
obtained it.
Cuyler again called Crone in February. During this call,
Crone promised to get Cuyler a list of the creditors ahead of
plaintiffs' claims, and the amount of those creditors' claims.
After two more conversations with Crone during the next month,
Crone told Cuyler on March 2, 1994 that, after the RTC was paid,
there would be forty-one million dollars available for future
dividends. Crone also told Cuyler that he would find out how much
of this forty-one million would be available to pay plaintiffs'
claims.
On March 16, 1994, Cuyler called Crone again, and Crone
offered Cuyler a list of creditors that showed only $100,000 in
claims that were superior to plaintiffs' claims. A half hour
later, Crone called Cuyler and told him that there was $1.039
billion still owed to the RTC, and that there was not enough money
to pay the RTC in full. For the first time in four years, the RTC
told the plaintiffs that their claims would not be paid. Crone
stated that he did not know the source of the previous information
he gave to Cuyler that led plaintiffs to believe that their claims
4
would be paid in full.
After learning that the RTC was not going to pay their claims,
plaintiffs filed new proofs of claims on March 21, 1994. These
claims were slightly different than the original claims; they were
described as "failure to pay receivership certificate on
Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan." Two weeks later, on April
4, 1994, the RTC sent plaintiffs letters informing them that their
claims would "not be considered." The letter also provided that
the RTC's decision not to consider the new claims was neither an
acceptance nor a denial of the claims.
On November 15, 1994, plaintiffs filed suit against the RTC.
The RTC moved to dismiss plaintiffs' claims on March 17, 1995
arguing, inter alia, that the statute of limitations had run
because plaintiff's did not timely seek judicial review of the
RTC's classification of their claims as those of unsecured general
creditors.
On May 30, 1995, the RTC filed its response to the plaintiffs'
reply to their motion to dismiss. In its response, the RTC for the
first time argued that the plaintiffs' claims were barred on
October 22, 1992, 60 days after the expiration of 180 days from the
date on which plaintiffs filed their original proof of claims.
This time period could only be extended by a written agreement, and
the RTC contended that no written agreement existed.
In response to the RTC's new argument, plaintiffs contended
that the RTC had, by letter, extended the 180 day period in which
it was to have considered plaintiffs' first proofs of claims when
5
it asked plaintiffs to refile their proofs of claims. Plaintiffs
also requested a continuance under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
56(f) so that they could conduct discovery and obtain a copy of
this written extension.
The district court denied plaintiffs' request for a
continuance, and granted the RTC's motion to dismiss on the ground
that plaintiffs failed to file suit within the 180/60 day period
set out in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and
Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA). The plaintiffs appeal from that
dismissal.
II.
DISCUSSION
The district court gave two alternate grounds for dismissing
plaintiffs' suit for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. First,
it held that plaintiffs' right to bring a suit had expired on
October 22, 1992, 60 days after the expiration of 180 days from the
date on which plaintiffs filed their original proof of claims.
Second, it held that, assuming arguendo that the RTC had agreed in
writing to extend the 180 day period in which it was to have
considered plaintiffs' claims, plaintiffs' claims were still not
timely. We will address both grounds.
"We review dismissals for lack of subject matter jurisdiction
de novo, applying the same standard as that applied by the district
court." Whatley v. Resolution Trust Corp., 32 F.3d 905, 907 (5th
Cir.1994) (citing Matter of Bradley, 989 F.2d 802 (5th Cir.1993)).
Dismissal is only proper when "it appears certain that the
6
plaintiffs cannot prove any set of facts in support of their claim
that would entitle them to relief." Saraw Partnership v. United
States, 67 F.3d 567, 569 (5th Cir.1995). A court may base its
disposition of a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter
jurisdiction on the complaint alone, the complaint supplemented by
undisputed facts, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts
plus the court's resolution of disputed facts. Ynclan v.
Department of the Air Force, 943 F.2d 1388, 1390 (5th Cir.1991).
In order to receive judicial review of the RTC's treatment of
their claims, plaintiffs must comply with the FIRREA's
administrative claims process, which is set forth at 12 U.S.C. §
1821(d). Meliezer v. Resolution Trust Co., 952 F.2d 879, 881-82
(5th Cir.1992). Under Section 1821(d), plaintiffs must first file
a claim with the RTC. The RTC then has 180 days to determine
whether to allow or disallow the claim. 12 U.S.C. §
1821(d)(5)(A)(i). This 180 day period may be extended by a written
agreement between a claimant and the RTC. 12 U.S.C. §
1821(d)(5)(A)(ii). To obtain judicial review of the RTC's handling
of the claim, a claimant must file suit within 60 days of the
earlier of: (1) the end of the 180 day period3; or (2) the date
of any notice of disallowance of the claim. 12 U.S.C. §
1821(d)(6).
We first turn to the issue of whether plaintiffs' claims were
barred on October 22, 1992. Plaintiffs filed their first proofs of
3
Or the end of the extended review period to which the RTC
and the claimant agreed in writing.
7
claims on February 25, 1992. It is undisputed that the RTC took no
action on plaintiffs' claims during the 180 day period after
February 25, 1992. Therefore, unless the 180 day period was
extended by a written agreement between plaintiffs and the RTC,
plaintiffs had to file suit within 60 days of the expiration of the
180 day period (i.e. by October 22, 1992) in order to preserve
their right to judicial review.
Plaintiffs claim that the RTC agreed to extend the 180 day
period when it sent them a letter asking them to refile their
proofs of claims. However, they were unable to produce a copy of
this letter, and the affidavits filed in opposition to the RTC's
motion to dismiss neither state that the extension was in the form
of a letter nor state the date upon which the RTC agreed to the
extension.
Plaintiffs contend that they would have been able to obtain
the letter had they been granted a continuance to conduct discovery
on the issue. The RTC first made the argument that the period
during which plaintiffs could seek judicial review had expired on
October 22, 1992 in its response to plaintiffs' opposition to its
motion to dismiss, which was filed on May 9, 1995. Plaintiffs only
had ten days to respond to this new argument. Claiming that they
needed more time to conduct discovery regarding the new issue,
plaintiffs moved for a continuance under Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 56(f). The district court denied plaintiffs' motion, and
granted the RTC's motion to dismiss without a hearing on May 31,
1995.
8
The district court committed reversible error in refusing to
grant a continuance. We review a denial of a request for a Rule
56(f) continuance for an abuse of discretion. Liquid Drill, Inc.
v. U.S. Turnkey Exploration, Inc., 48 F.3d 927, 930 (5th Cir.1995).
The district court's discretion is not unlimited, however. When a
district court makes factual determinations decisive of a motion to
dismiss for lack of jurisdiction, it must give plaintiffs an
opportunity for discovery and a hearing that is appropriate to the
nature of the motion to dismiss. Williamson v. Tucker, 645 F.2d
404, 414 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 897, 102 S.Ct. 396,
70 L.Ed.2d 212. In this case, plaintiffs only had ten days between
the time the RTC first argued that plaintiffs' time to seek
judicial review expired on October 22, 1992 and the date on which
plaintiffs had to respond to this allegation. We hold that the
district court abused its discretion in refusing to grant a Rule
56(f) continuance to allow plaintiffs to conduct discovery and
properly respond to the RTC's argument.
As an alternate ground for affirming the district court's
dismissal, the RTC argues that, even if it extended the time in
which plaintiffs could seek judicial review, that extended time
period had lapsed before November 15, 1994, the date on which
plaintiffs filed their complaint in this suit. We disagree.
The plaintiffs contend that the RTC extended the 180 day
period, and that it orally informed them that their claims would be
paid before the expiration of that period before it issued
Receiver's Certificates in March 1993. Because there is no
9
requirement that the allowance of a claim be in writing, we hold
that such oral assurances constitute an allowance of the claim.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence regarding the date upon which
the RTC allegedly agreed to extend the 180 day period, or the date
upon which the RTC allegedly orally allowed plaintiffs' claims.
Because the plaintiffs' did not have adequate time to conduct
discovery on this issue, however, we will not use this lack of
evidence as a ground for affirming the dismissal. Instead, on
remand, after allowing the parties to conduct more discovery, the
district court will have to determine if and when the RTC agreed to
extend the 180 day period, and whether the RTC orally allowed
plaintiffs' claims during that extended period or the 60 days
following it.
Assuming for the time being that the RTC allowed plaintiffs'
claims, we now turn to the question of whether November 1994 was
too late to seek judicial review of the RTC's classification of the
claims. To answer this question, we must first determine when the
60 day period during which plaintiffs could file suit began to run.
After making that determination, we will determine whether the
RTC's false representations tolled the running of the 60 day
period.
Assuming that the parties extended the 180 day period, the 60
day period apparently began to run on the date upon which the RTC
told plaintiffs that their claims would be approved and arguably
classified the claims as those of unsecured general creditors. At
first glance, Section 1821(d)(6) does not seem to apply to
10
situations in which the RTC approved a claim. Section 1821(d)(6)
provides that the 60 day period begins to run on either the date
upon which the RTC disallows a claim, or at the end of the 180 day
period if the RTC took no action during the 180 day period. The
RTC issued the Receiver's Certificates allowing plaintiffs' claims.
In doing so, the RTC arguably implicitly disallowed plaintiffs'
claims that their claims should be categorized as those of service
providers, rather than those of unsecured general creditors.
Therefore, the 60 day period in which plaintiffs could challenge
the RTC's categorization of their claims may have begun to run on
the date upon which the RTC allowed their claims as those of
unsecured general creditors.
Plaintiffs' claims are still timely, however, because the
running of the 60 day period was tolled by the RTC's
misrepresentations. Under the doctrine of equitable estoppel, a
defendant is estopped from asserting a limitations defense when its
conduct induced or tricked a plaintiff into allowing a filing
deadline to pass. See Rhodes v. Guiberson Oil Tools Div., 927 F.2d
876, 879 (5th Cir.1991) (stating that "[i]f the defendant did
conceal facts or mislead the plaintiff and thereby caused the
plaintiff not to assert his rights within the limitations period,
the defendant is estopped from asserting [limitations] as a
defense."), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 868, 112 S.Ct. 198, 116 L.Ed.2d
158. Cf. Irwin v. Department of Veterans Affairs, 498 U.S. 89, 96,
111 S.Ct. 453, 457, 112 L.Ed.2d 435 (1991) (noting that the Supreme
11
Court has allowed equitable tolling4 "in situations where the
claimant has been induced or tricked by his adversary's conduct
into allowing the filing deadline to pass."). In this case, the
RTC's false assertions that the plaintiffs would be paid in full
induced them not to file suit within the 60 day period following
the issuance of the Receiver's Certificates. Because of these
false representations, the RTC is equitably estopped from raising
limitations as a defense.
III.
CONCLUSION
We REVERSE the district court's dismissal, and REMAND this
case for further proceedings in accordance with these opinions.
4
Several courts, including the Supreme Court in Irwin, have
used the terms "equitable tolling" and "equitable estoppel"
interchangeably. This Circuit, however, has joined several
others in distinguishing between the two doctrines. In Rhodes,
we explained this distinction by noting that equitable tolling
focuses on the plaintiff's excusable ignorance of the facts
underlying the suit, while equitable estoppel focuses on the
defendant's misrepresentation of concealment of the facts
underlying the suit. 927 F.2d at 879. The instant case, which
involves plaintiffs being lulled into not filing suit by the
RTC's false statements, involves equitable estoppel, not
equitable tolling.
12