Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. v. Don M. Kennedy

The threshold question in this case is whether the appointment of Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) as receiver for the defendant, Mainland Savings Association, after the entry of judgment against Mainland Savings but during the period while the trial court still retained plenary control over the case, gave FSLIC the exclusive power and authority to readjudicate the issues determined by the judgment. We hold that the trial court's judgment was final in the sense that it was enforceable as a legal determination of the parties' rights, and that FSLIC has the same but no greater right than Mainland Savings to challenge the judgment on this appeal. Don M. Kennedy brought this action against Mainland Savings in December 1985, to recover a $2 million certificate of deposit, which he had pledged as collateral in a real estate transaction with Mainland Savings. Kennedy asserted that Mainland Savings had breached its agreement to provide construction and permanent financing for the transaction and that it had wrongfully refused to return his $2 million deposit. Among other theories of recovery, Kennedy alleged breach of contract, conversion, fraud, and violation of the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.