"Winstar" Damages Litigation

Analysis Group Managing Principals Richard Starfield and Jeffrey Malinak assisted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in analyzing economic issues related to the "Winstar" damages litigation. These cases involved allegations by over 100 failed savings and loan institutions that the federal government breached its contracts with them by passing the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989. Through passage of this act, the plaintiffs claimed, the government revoked the right to include an intangible asset called "supervisory goodwill" when calculating capital for regulatory requirements. In most cases, this goodwill was booked by the plaintiffs in connection with supervised transactions involving troubled thrift institutions. Our role in these cases involved analysis of economic, finance, accounting and damages/valuation issues.