United States v. Tacoma Gravel and Supply Co., Inc.

In 1953 the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, predecessor to the Small Business Administration, an agency of plaintiff United States of America, obtained a deficiency judgment against respondents in a superior court of the State of Washington. Ten years later, the United States brought this action in a federal district court to renew the Washington judgment. On cross-motions the district court rendered summary judgment for respondents. This appeal followed.

Jurisdiction below was based on 28 U.S.C. § 1345 . This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

. The district court rested decision on the ground that the United States, having voluntarily put itself into the state forum in order to have the benefit of a state judgment, was on no better footing than any other litigant availing itself of the state judicial processes. Accordingly, the United States was denied relief because under R.C.W. 4.56.210 a Washington state judgment is not renewable more than six years after it has been entered.

R.C.W. 4.56.210 provides:

Appellant argues that this is a statute of limitations and “[i]t is well settled that the United States is not bound by state statutes of limitation or…