Citations
- 187 F.2d 564
Full opinion text
GOODRICH, Circuit Judge.
This case involves the question whether a Federal savings and loan association may have a branch office. The suit is for a declaratory judgment originally brought in a state court in New Jersey and removed to federal court. The plaintiff is a national bank doing a general banking business in North Arlington, N. J. The defendant, whose ho.me office is in Kearny, N. J., a town adjoining North Arlington, has established and is operating a branch office in North Arlington. The branch office is about one half mile from the home office of the defendant and was established with the approval of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Plaintiff complains of this operation and asks that it be declared illegal. The case was dismissed by the District Court.
The Savings and Loan Association raises several defenses to plaintiff’s suit. It says the plaintiff has no standing to complain of the alleged illegality of this branch office. It says that plaintiff has not exhausted its administrative remedies and that it has failed to join indispensable parties defendant. Finally, and this is obviously the most important substantive law question, defendant says that the branch office is lawfully maintained.
We incline to the view that plaintiff lias standing to question the legality of what the defendant has done. We shall not go into the cases cited by each side for our decision does not turn upon this point. But it seems to us that if the defendant’s maintenance of this branch is unlawful it is indulging in unfair competition with the plaintiff and the harm caused by the competition, if not justified by the lawfulness of that competition, gives the plaintiff a standing to complain. See Restatement, Torts § 710 (1938). We assume the point, however, and do not decide it. Granted arguendo, plaintiff has standing to raise the question of the legality of the defendant’s conduct our view is that the ■establishment of the branch office in this ■case was lawful. Since it was lawful any injury which the plaintiff suffers by reason