FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, IN ITS CORPORATE CAPACITY, PETITIONER,
v.
SAMMIE LEE STEWART AND ALTON M. WHITE, RESPONDENTS; FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, IN ITS CORPORATE CAPACITY, PETITIONER, V. DALE MABRY NORTH, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION, PATRIOT PETROLEUM DISTRIBUTORS, INC., A FLORIDA CORPORATION; C.E. BROWN, GULF REGIONAL CONTRACTORS, INC., AND L.T.P. & R. INVESTMENT COMPANY, INC., RESPONDENTS

Fla. 2d DCA | 1984-01-20
Nos. 83-1599, 83-1705
DANAHY and CAMPBELL, JJ., concur.
445 So. 2d 590 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1984)

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Synopsis

The FDIC, as liquidator of a failed bank, challenged discovery orders requiring it to produce documents subject to federal regulatory restrictions and state confidentiality protections. The court granted the petition in part, quashing the order to produce federal documents but denying relief regarding state comptroller reports that were subject to confidentiality safeguards.


Holding

The court quashed the portion of the order requiring FDIC to produce federally-protected documents, holding that respondents should seek such documents directly from federal officials rather than from the FDIC. The court denied relief regarding the Comptroller reports because the lower court's order already restricted access and protected confidentiality.


Headnotes

[1] Federal regulations prohibiting the disclosure of certain documents supersede a court order compelling their production.

[2] A party possessing documents subject to federal disclosure restrictions may be ordered to allow discovery from the appropriate federal officials rather than producing the…

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Key Quotes

“These regulations specifically prohibit FDIC from complying with the court's order.”

Establishes the fundamental conflict between the discovery order and federal regulatory restrictions

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Facts & Procedural History

The FDIC brought suit to collect debts owed to The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company. Respondents moved to compel discovery, and the lower court ord…

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Opinion of the Court
OTT, Chief Judge.

OTT, Chief Judge.

In these consolidated petitions for writ of certiorari, the petitioner, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), asks this court to quash orders of the lower court granting discovery. We grant in part the petition in No. 83-1705.

FDIC, as liquidator of The Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, brought suit to collect certain debts owed to the bank by the respondents. In response to a motion to compel discovery filed by respondents in No. 83-1705, FDIC was ordered to produce, among other things, documents in its possession but subject to restrictions imposed by Federal Regulations of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. See 12 C.F.R. §§ 261.6 and 261.7 (1982).1 These regulations specifically prohibit FDIC from complying with the court’s order. A similar situation occurred in Hialeah-Miami Springs First State Bank v. B.S. Enterprises, Inc., 353 So. 2d 1243 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). There, the bank was required to produce for inspection reports issued by FDIC. The reports in question were the property of FDIC and not to be disclosed. The third district reversed, holding that the lower court should authorize B.S. Enterprises to seek to obtain the records from “the necessary Federal officials” but not from the bank. Id. at 1244.

Likewise, in our case respondents should merely have been authorized to seek to obtain the documents from the proper Federal Reserve officials. We therefore quash that portion of the order in No. 83-1705 requiring FDIC to produce the previously described Federal Reserve documents.

FDIC also challenges orders in both cases requiring production of confidential reports of the Comptroller of the State of Florida. See § 655.057(1), Fla.Stat. (1981).2 The lower court’s orders restrict access to the reports and otherwise protect the confidentiality of the reports. We therefore deny the petitions for certiorari as regards the Comptroller reports.

Certiorari GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.

DANAHY and CAMPBELL, JJ., concur. . Specifically, 12 C.F.R. § 261.7(b) provides:

(b) Appearance by person served

Unless the Board has authorized disclosure of the relevant information, or except as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1906, any person having information of the Board that may not be disclosed under this part who is required to respond to a subpoena or other legal process shall attend at the time and place therein mentioned and decline to disclose such information or gives any testimony with respect thereof, basing his refusal upon the part. If the court or other body orders the disclosure of such information or the giving of such testimony, the person having such information of the Board shall continue to decline to disclose such information and shall promptly report the facts to the Board for such action as the Board may deem appropriate.

. Section 655.057(l)(b) provides:

The following records and information of the Department are confidential:
... 3. reports of examination or operations, working notes or papers and memoranda and records or portions thereof, containing or relating to an examination, operation, or condition report prepared by, or on behalf of or for use by the Department or any other agency, state or federal, responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions in this state or affiliates thereof ... any person receiving confidential information pursuant to the provisions of this subparagraph shall maintain the confidentiality of the information.

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