* Pursuant to Local Rule 47.5, the court has determined that

this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except

under the limited circumstances set forth in Local Rule 47.5.4.

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

_____________________

No. 95-40660

Summary Calendar

_____________________

GREAT PLAINS CAPITAL CORPORATION,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

CHARLES E. WILLIAMS; WHITEHOUSE TRUE VALUE INC.,

Defendants-Appellants.

________________________________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Texas

(6:92-CV-684)

________________________________________________

March 27, 1996

Before DAVIS, BARKSDALE, and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Charles E. Williams challenges an adverse summary judgment,

contending that the district court did not rule on his

counterclaim. We AFFIRM.

I.

Tyler National Bank brought this action in state court against

Williams and Whitehouse True Value, Inc. (collectively "Williams")

for promissory note default. When the bank was declared insolvent,
2

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was appointed as

receiver, intervened, and removed the action to federal court. The

district court treated the parties' briefs as a motion for summary

judgment and response, and ordered that judgment be awarded the

FDIC and that the FDIC be allowed to amend its pleadings to

establish damages.

Williams' counsel withdrew before the FDIC filed its amended

pleadings. Williams filed a pro se response to those pleadings and

contends here that his response included a counterclaim. The case

was reassigned, the FDIC moved for summary judgment, and the court

granted the motion and entered judgment for the FDIC. 

The district court granted the FDIC's motion to alter or amend

judgment. Construing Williams' post-judgment pleadings as a

response to the FDIC's motion to amend judgment and a motion for a

new trial, the district court denied Williams' motion for a new

trial. Great Plains Capital Corporation was substituted as the

real party in interest.

II.

Pro se pleadings "must be read in a liberal fashion and

however inartfully pleaded must be held to less stringent standards

than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers". Rodriguez v. Holmes,

963 F.2d 799, 801 (5th Cir. 1992) (internal quotes and citations

omitted). Williams maintains that his pro se response to the

FDIC's amended pleadings included a counterclaim; he asserts that
3

the district court erred in entering judgment without addressing

it. Although the claim in issue was not designated as a

counterclaim, Williams' response can be construed liberally to

present one. 

In its order granting summary judgment, the district court

stated that it had considered Williams' arguments and found them to

be without merit. Furthermore, the district court denied Williams'

motion for a new trial, which asked for a hearing on his

counterclaim, on the basis that it raised no new grounds.

Accordingly, the district court ruled on Williams' counterclaim. 

Williams presented no evidence, only allegations, in his

counterclaim and opposition to summary judgment. Because he did

not present a genuine issue of material fact, summary judgment was

appropriate. FED. R. CIV. P. 56(c).

III.

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment is

AFFIRMED.