86
Opinion of the Court
Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA), Pub. L. 101-73, 103 Stat. 183.
Section 1821(d)(2)(A)(i), which is part of a title captioned "Powers and duties of [the FDIC] as . . . receiver," states that "the [FDIC] shall, . . . by operation of law, succeed to— all rights, titles, powers, and privileges of the insured depository institution . . . ." 12 U. S. C. § 1821(d)(2)(A)(i) (1988 ed., Supp. IV). This language appears to indicate that the FDIC as receiver "steps into the shoes" of the failed S&L, cf. Coit Independence Joint Venture v. FSLIC, 489 U. S. 561, 585 (1989), obtaining the rights "of the insured depository institution" that existed prior to receivership. Thereafter, in litigation by the FDIC asserting the claims of the S&L— in this case California tort claims potentially defeasible by a showing that the S&L's officers had knowledge—" 'any defense good against the original party is good against the receiver.' " 969 F. 2d, at 751 (quoting Allen v. Ramsay, 179 Cal. App. 2d 843, 854, 4 Cal. Rptr. 575, 583 (1960)).
Respondent argues that § 1821(d)(2)(A)(i) should be read as a nonexclusive grant of rights to the FDIC receiver, which can be supplemented or modified by federal common law; and that FIRREA as a whole, by demonstrating the high federal interest in this area, confirms the courts' authority to promulgate such common law. This argument is demolished by those provisions of FIRREA which specifically create special federal rules of decision regarding claims by, and defenses against, the FDIC as receiver. See 12 U. S. C. § 1821(d)(14) (1988 ed., Supp. IV) (extending statute of limitations beyond period that might exist under state law); §§ 1821(e)(1), (3) (precluding state-law claims against the FDIC under certain contracts it is authorized to repudiate); § 1821(k) (permitting claims against directors and officers for gross negligence, regardless of whether state law would require greater culpability); § 1821(d)(9) (excluding certain state-law claims against FDIC based on oral agreements by the S&L). Inclusio unius, exclusio alterius. It is hard to
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