At issue in this case is whether the Fifth Circuit incorrectly overturned the District Court’s ruling that the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) extends the statute of limitations for certain claims brought by the FDIC but not statutes of repose. The District Court ruled that the FDIC failed to bring its actions in a timely manner under the Texas Securities Act’s (TSA) five-year statute of repose. The Fifth Circuit reversed the District Court’s ruling and construed FIRREA to permit the FDIC to bring claims after the period allowed by the TSA’s statute of repose. In the amicus, the trades argue that FIRREA is clear and unambiguous in extending only the statute of limitations for certain claims brought by the FDIC as a conservator or liquidating agent and that the Fifth Circuit’s decision is contrary to the plain language of FIRREA, which applies only to statutes of limitations, and not to statutes of repose. Furthermore, if upheld, the RBS decision and similar rulings would create precisely the type of uncertainty and unpredictability in the securities markets that statutes of repose were intended to combat.
TCH and SIFMA File Amicus Brief in FDIC v. RBS Securities, Inc.
