BankUnited Financial Corp. creditors, who are preparing to sue the bank holding company's former executives over the collapse of its Florida thrift, are urging a bankruptcy court to take their side in a dispute with federal banking regulators over who is entitled to the lawsuit's proceeds.
The committee representing BankUnited's unsecured creditors says a court order allowing it to pursue claims on the company's behalf covers the lawsuit it intends to file. That suit would allege two former BankUnited executives breached their fiduciary duties to the former bank holding company and contributed to the collapse of BankUnited FSB.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. disputes the committee's right to bring the proposed lawsuit and says that, as the failed bank's receiver, it is the true owner of those claims.
"The committee vigorously disputes the FDIC's contentions but, before filing the proposed complaint, desires to obtain clarity with respect to the claims ownership issue in order to make responsible decisions about its future course of conduct," the creditors said this week in court papers.
In the face of this uncertainty, the committee is asking Judge Laurel M. Isicoff of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Miami to rule on the ownership of the claims.
