A federal district judge in Santa Ana, California affirmed the rulings of a bankruptcy court allowing a claim of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Receiver for American Sterling Bank (the “FDIC-R”) in the amount of $10 million and approving the FDIC-R’s settlement with the debtor, the former executive of a failed bank, providing for the full amount of the FDIC-R’s claim.  The appellant, a third-party creditor of the debtor, objected to the settlement and sought to disallow the FDIC-R’s claim before the bankruptcy court.  The bankruptcy court, agreeing with and adopting the arguments made by Bienert | Katzman, allowed the FDIC-R’s claim in the full amount, and approved the settlement.  On appeal of the objecting creditor, the district court likewise adopted the analysis and arguments made by Bienert | Katzman in their entirety.  The district court affirmed the bankruptcy court’s approval of the $10 million settlement and allowance of the FDIC-R’s claim in the debtor’s bankruptcy case.

Steven Jay Katzman and Tony Bisconti of Bienert | Katzman represented the FDIC-R in this matter as the FDIC-R’s approved outside counsel.  A copy of the district court’s opinion is found here.