Opinion ID: 866108
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Initial Pleadings

Text: On September 9, 2010, proceeding pro se, Albert filed an amended complaint (the “complaint”) against the following defendants in connection with his employment termination: (1) Ameris Bank, which had purchased Albert’s employer, the failed American United Bank (“AUB”); (2) Bryan Bell, the Chief Executive Officer of AUB; and (3) the FDIC. 1 Albert sued the FDIC in both its corporate capacity and its capacity as receiver for AUB. 2 The complaint alleged 1 The amended complaint also listed Dale Johnson as a defendant, but Johnson has not participated in the litigation and is not a party to this appeal. 2 The FDIC in its corporate capacity is an entity distinct from the FDIC in its receivership capacity. See FDIC v. Harrison, 735 F.2d 408, 412 (11th Cir. 1984) (“FDIC facilitates its 2 Case: 12-15146 Date Filed: 04/29/2013 Page: 3 of 15 that Albert had been employed as a compliance officer at AUB. During his employment with AUB, Albert discovered that AUB had engaged in financial wrongdoing. He reported this conduct to the FDIC, leading to an investigation of AUB. Allegedly, the FDIC improperly leaked Albert’s identity as the whistleblower to AUB. As a result of the leak, Bell terminated Albert after AUB’s takeover by defendant Ameris Bank. Based on these facts, Albert’s complaint asserted a federal claim against all defendants for whistleblower retaliation under 12 U.S.C. § 1831j, as well as state law claims for slander, libel, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. On September 30, 2010, before any responsive pleadings were filed in the case, the defendant FDIC moved to dismiss the complaint on various grounds, including lack of subject matter jurisdiction. The FDIC filed the motion to dismiss both in its corporate and receivership capacities, but the motion was signed by attorney Robert Waddell, Jr., whose signature line identified him as an “Attorney[] for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Receiver of [AUB].” (emphasis added). purpose by serving in two distinct capacities: as an insurer of deposits of member banks and as a receiver for insured banks that have failed.”); see also Trigo v. FDIC, 847 F.2d 1499, 1501 (11th Cir. 1988) (“[T]he FDIC then split itself into two entities: the FDIC as receiver and the FDIC in its corporate capacity . . . .”). When the FDIC is appointed as a receiver for a failed institution, such as AUB, “it steps into the shoes of the failed institution and takes possession of both the assets and the liabilities.” F.D.I.C. v. N. Savannah Props., LLC, 686 F.3d 1254, 1259 (11th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks omitted). 3 Case: 12-15146 Date Filed: 04/29/2013 Page: 4 of 15 In all other filings relevant to this appeal, Waddell’s signature line identified him as an attorney for the FDIC in its receivership capacity.