Opinion ID: 506586
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Inherent Powers

Text: 23 Appellee has argued, alternatively, that whether or not Fed.R.Civ.P. 64 authorized the district court to employ bonding as a provisional remedy in a case such as this, the bond order was nevertheless a legitimate exercise of the district court's inherent powers. Because the issue is an important one, and because resolution of it furnishes an independently sufficient ground for our holding, we address it. 24 We start with the proposition that the rules of civil procedure do not completely describe and limit the power of district courts.... Brockton Savings Bank v. Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., 771 F.2d 5, 11 (1st Cir.1985), cert. denied, 475 U.S. 1018, 106 S.Ct. 1204, 89 L.Ed.2d 317 (1986). Such courts have inherent powers, rooted in the chancellor's equity powers, to process litigation to a just and equitable conclusion. ITT Community Development Corp. v. Barton, 569 F.2d 1351, 1359 (5th Cir.1978). In general, except where a statute or rule holds to the contrary, federal courts enjoy the inherent power to provide themselves with appropriate instruments required for the performance of their duties. Ex Parte Peterson, 253 U.S. 300, 312, 40 S.Ct. 543, 547, 64 L.Ed. 919 (1920). More to the point, that federal courts have the authority to preserve a fund or property which may be the subject of a final decree is well established. Usaco Coal Co. v. Carbomin Energy, Inc., 689 F.2d 94, 97-98 (6th Cir.1982), citing De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd. v. United States, 325 U.S. 212, 220, 65 S.Ct. 1130, 1134, 89 L.Ed. 1566 (1945). And the judiciary must be free, within reason, to exercise this inherent judicial power in flexible and pragmatic ways. As Justice Cardozo warned, [w]e must be on our guard against depriving the processes of justice of their suppleness of adaptation to varying conditions. Landis v. North American Co., 299 U.S. 248, 256, 57 S.Ct. 163, 166, 81 L.Ed. 153 (1936). 25 In this case, the bond order was plainly desirable in order to ensure a just conclusion and to preserve the res. HMG began the action by seeking the assistance of the court with respect to real estate which would likely become the subject of a final decree should foreclosure be allowed, and its counterclaim reemphasized and expanded this quest. Had the court left the path clear for a tax sale, it would have jeopardized its ability to grant meaningful relief. If the tax sale occurred, the property might well have been lost; on the other hand, if HMG was forced to pay the tax liabilities as they accrued, its security would have been diminished, perhaps to the point of no return. Either way--and especially given the district court's view that HMG had shown a considerable likelihood of success-- 11 ordering the bond to be posted was, we think, a measured and appropriate exercise of the court's inherent powers. See, e.g., Bronson v. La Crosse & Milwaukee R. Co., 1 Wall. (68 U.S.) 405, 410, 17 L.Ed. 616 (1863) (in mortgage foreclosure action, district court had inherent power, pending appeal, to adopt all proper and judicious measures to protect and preserve [the property] from waste or loss); Hawes v. Club Ecuestre El Comandante, 535 F.2d 140, 143 (1st Cir.1976) (federal district courts have inherent power to require security for costs when warranted by the circumstances of the case); cf. De Beers, 325 U.S. at 220, 65 S.Ct. at 1134 (where court commanded prejudgment sequestration of property unrelated to cause of action, order was not an appropriate exercise of inherent power).