Federal Land Bank of St. Paul v. GrossCivil No. 900114

VandeWalle, Justice.

David Gross appealed from an order of the district court which denied his Rule 60(b), NDRCivP, motion to set aside the sale of his mortgaged property which had been sold pursuant to a judgment of foreclosure obtained by Federal Land Bank of St. Paul (FLB). Gross claimed that the United States Bankruptcy Court improperly granted FLB relief from the automatic stay of his Chapter 12 bankruptcy proceeding. Gross also argued that FLB failed, procedurally and substantively, to provide him with the opportunity to restructure his loan under the provisions of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987.

In First National Bank of Milnor v. Yagow, 415 N.W.2d 807 (N.D. 1987), we observed that North Dakota courts are, generally, bound by the proceedings of federal bankruptcy courts, and concluded that this Court lacked the power to review the decisions of those courts. A review of the record reveals that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Gross' Rule 60(b) motion. Accordingly, we affirm pursuant to Rule 35.1(a)(4) of the North Dakota Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Gerald W. VandeWalle
Vernon R. Pederson, S.J.
Beryl J. Levine
Herbert L. Meschke
Ralph J. Erickstad, C.J.

Pederson, Surrogate Judge, sitting in place of Gierke, J., disqualified.