SVB Financial Group v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

Filing 173

ORDER GRANTING 171 DEFENDANT'S ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR EXTENTION OF DEADLINE TO FILE ANSWER AND ANY AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 3/10/2025. (blflc3, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 3/10/2025) (Entered: 3/10/2025)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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SVB FINANCIAL TRUST,
Plaintiff,

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v.
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION,

United States District Court
Northern District of California

Defendant.
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Case No. 23-cv-06543-BLF
ORDER GRANING DEFENDANT’S
ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION FOR
EXTENTION OF DEADLINE TO FILE
ANSWER AND ANY AFFIRMATIVE
DEFENSES
[Re: ECF No. 171]

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On February 27, 2025, the Court granted in part and denied in part Defendant Federal

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Deposit Insurance Corporation, in its corporate capacity’s (“FDIC-C”) motion to dismiss Plaintiff

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SVB Financial Trust’s (“Trust”) Amended Complaint. See ECF 162. FDIC-C’s deadline to file an

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Answer and any affirmative defenses is currently March 13, 2025. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(4)(A).

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On March 7, 2025, the FDIC-C filed an administrative motion requesting the Court to extend the

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deadline by one week. See ECF 171. The FDIC-C argues that “good cause” exists to extend the

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deadline by one week so that the FDCI-C can “adequately investigate and assert its affirmative

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defenses in response to [the Trust’s] remaining claims and allegations.” ECF 171 at 2. The Trust

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opposes the FDIC-C’s request. ECF 172. The Trust requests the Court to adopt a timeline that would

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allow the Trust’s anticipated motion to strike the FDIC-C’s affirmative defenses to be heard together

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with the Trust’s motion to strike FDIC in its receivership capacities’ affirmative defenses in the

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consolidated SVB Financial Trust v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., as Receiver for Silicon

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Valley Bank, et al., No. 5:24-cv-01321-BLF (N.D. Cal.) on May 1, 2025.

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Courts have broad discretion to grant extensions of time. Jenkins v. Commonwealth Land

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Title Ins. Co., 95 F.3d 791, 795 (9th Cir. 1996). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b)(1),

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when an act must be done within a specified time, the court may, for good cause, extend the time if

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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the request for an extension is made before the original time or its extension expires. See Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 6(b)(1)(A). The rule is “to be liberally construed to effectuate the general purpose of seeing

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that cases are tried on the merits.” Ahanchian v. Xenon Pictures, Inc., 624 F.3d 1253, 1258–59 (9th

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Cir. 2010) (citation omitted). Thus, a court should normally grant requests for extensions of time

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made before the applicable deadline has passed “in absence of bad faith on the part of the party

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seeking relief or prejudice to the adverse party.” Id., 624 F.3d at 1259. “‘Good cause’ is a non-

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rigorous standard that has been construed broadly across procedural and statutory contexts.”

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Ahanchian, 624 F.3d at 1259.

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The Court finds that the FDIC-C has shown good cause for the requested extension of time

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to file an answer and any affirmative defenses. The Court finds that the one-week extension would

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allow the FDIC-C to adequately investigate the Trust’s remaining claims and would be helpful to

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the Court in ruling on future disputes related to any affirmative defenses. The parties are also advised

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that the Court is unavailable on May 1, 2025 to add an additional motion to dismiss or motion to

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strike the FDIC-C affirmative defenses. That calendar is full.

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For the above reasons, the FDIC-C’s administrative motion to for an one-week extension to

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file its Answer and any affirmative defenses to the Trust’s Amended Complaint is GRANTED. The

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FDIC-C SHALL file any Answer or affirmative defenses to the Trust’s Amended Complaint on or

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before March 20, 2025.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: March 10, 2025
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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