Opinion ID: 767887
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: JURISDICTION, STANDARD OF REVIEW and APPLICABLE LAW

Text: 31 The district court exercised subject matter jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 12 U.S.C. S 1441a(l)(1), which grants original jurisdiction to district courts over any action to which the RTC is a party. The FDIC was subject to jurisdiction in the district court by virtue of 12 U.S.C. S 1819(b)(2)(A). 32 We exercise appellate jurisdiction over this appeal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. S 1291, as the district court entered a final order dated September 3, 1998, dismissing the action. Because the RTC appeals from the district court's order of summary judgment entered January 29, 1998, our review is plenary. See Nelson v. Upsala College, 51 F.3d 383, 385 (3d Cir. 1995). 33 Preliminarily, we note that suits brought by the FDIC are deemed by statute to arise under the laws of the United States. See 12 U.S.C. S 1819(b)(2)(A). Nevertheless, we treat this appeal as governed by the substantive law of New Jersey, inasmuch as both parties assume that New Jersey law applies, neither party contends that another state's law governs, and we see no basis for fashioning a federal rule of decision to resolve the issues we address today. See O'Melveny & Myers v. FDIC, 512 U.S. 79, 87-88, 114 S.Ct. 2048, 2055 (1994); FDIC v. Insurance Co. of N. Am., 105 F.3d 778, 779 n.1 (1st Cir. 1997); FDIC v. Oldenburg, 34 F.3d 1529, 1538 & n.10 (10th Cir. 1994); FDIC v. New Hampshire Ins. Co., 953 F.2d 478, 481-82 (9th Cir. 1991). In this regard, however, we note that many of the germane cases are from the federal courts as, not surprisingly, diversity jurisdiction frequently is present in litigation involving fidelity bonds. The cases often state common law principles which are not unique to any particular state.