Opinion
Civil Case No. 2:12-cv-02967-RGK Bankruptcy Case No. 2:08-bk-21752-BB Adversary Proc. No. 2:09-ap-01698-BB
06-19-2012
In re: INDYMAC BANCORP, INC., Debtor. ALFRED H. SIEGEL, solely in his capacity as Chapter 7 Trustee of the estate of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc., Plaintiff, v. FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION, in its capacity as Receiver of IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. and as Conservator of IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B., Defendant.
Whitman L. Holt KLEE, TUCHIN, BOGDANOFF & STERN LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff Alfred H. Siegel, Solely as Chapter 7 Trustee of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. Allan H. Ickowitz NOSSAMAN LLP Counsel for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, in its capacity as Receiver of IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. and as Receiver of IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B.
JUDGMENT
Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 157(c)(1) and Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9033(d), the Court has reviewed the March 29, 2012 Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Sheri Bluebond, United States Bankruptcy Judge, to the United States District Court for the Central District of California Containing Proposed Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Final Judgment Regarding Competing Motions for Summary Judgment with Respect to the Ownership of Certain Tax Refunds [ECF No. 2] (the "Report and Recommendation") as well as the records and files herein. Having made a de novo review upon the record of those portions of the Report and Recommendation to which objections were made, the Court has accepted the findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the Bankruptcy Court and has granted the relief recommended in the Report and Recommendation, all as set forth more fully in the Court's May 30, 2012 Order Accepting Bankruptcy Court's Report & Recommendation [ECF No. 30].
It is therefore ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED that:
1. Alfred H. Siegel, in his capacity as Chapter 7 Trustee of the bankruptcy estate of IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. (the "Trustee"), is entitled to immediate payment, possession, and ownership of all refunds to be received on or after July 30, 2008, in connection with consolidated or combined federal and state tax returns filed or submitted for the years 2000 through 2008 and any interest associated therewith, including all funds now on deposit in the parties' Joint Account (as defined in the Report and Recommendation); provided, however, that all such refunds including all funds now or hereafter on deposit in the Joint Account shall remain on deposit and shall not be disbursed until the conditions in the stipulations and orders described in paragraph 34 of the Report and Recommendation have been satisfied [Bankruptcy Case No. 2:08-bk-21752-BB, Docket Nos. 363, 364, 444 & 447].
2. Any legal rights of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as Receiver for IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. or as Receiver for IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B. (the "FDIC-Receiver"), IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., or any subsidiary or affiliate of either IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. or IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B. with respect to these tax refunds are properly asserted, if at all, solely in the form of a general unsecured claim against the IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. bankruptcy estate, subject to the bar date in effect in the bankruptcy case, as well as the objections, defenses, and causes of actions set forth in the Trustee's complaint.
3. The claims that are the subject of the Report and Recommendation are severed from the balance of the litigation. For all the reasons set forth in paragraphs 171- 178 of the Report and Recommendation, there is no just reason for delay, and the Court therefore directs that this judgment in favor of the Trustee and against the FDIC-Receiver be entered as a final judgment on those severed claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
________________
HON. R. GARY KLAUSNER
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Approved as to Form Per L.R. 52-8
Whitman L. Holt
KLEE, TUCHIN, BOGDANOFF & STERN LLP
Attorneys for Plaintiff Alfred H. Siegel,
Solely as Chapter 7 Trustee of IndyMac
Bancorp, Inc.
Allan H. Ickowitz
NOSSAMAN LLP
Counsel for Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, in its capacity as Receiver of
IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. and as Receiver of
IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B.