Federal Deposit Insurance v. O'Malley

This case involves an action by plaintiff, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), to enforce a guarantee signed by defendant, Michael J. O’Malley, in connection with a bank loan. The bank that made the loan subsequently failed. The FDIC then took control of the bank’s assets and found the guarantee in the bank’s files. At trial, O’Malley argued that the guarantee was invalid from the outset or, in the alternative, had been extinguished by the bank before the FDIC acquired the bank’s assets. The circuit court found, as a matter of law, that these defenses were barred by 12 U.S.C. §…