William S. Bennett v. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, as Receiver of San Francisco National Bank

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), as receiver of San Francisco National Bank, obtained a summary judgment against William S. Bennett in the sum of $405,430.00, plus interest. Proceeding under Rule 60(b), Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Bennett moved that the judgment be set aside and that the cause go to trial. The district court denied the motion and Bennett appeals.

On August 12, 1965, FDIC commenced this action against Bennett and others to recover assets of the bank. With regard to Bennett, the receiver sought to recover under the terms of certain continuing guarantees. The complaint was served upon Bennett in November, 1965. Bennett has never answered that complaint. However, FDIC did not seek a default judgment against Bennett. Instead, on July 29, 1966, it moved for summary judgment against Bennett and the other defendants, with a hearing thereon noted for August 30, 1966.

This motion was duly served upon Bennett through his counsel of record. He filed no opposition to the motion. On September 9, 1966, the district court entered an order granting a summary judgment. This order was served on Bennett’s counsel on September 19, 1966. On that date service was…