Ballew v. Georgia

After the savings and loan debacle, Congress created the Resolution Trust Corporation in 1989 to cleanup the mess. The RTC was charged with taking over more than 700 failing thrifts, and trying to refund the losses to depositors, who were stuck with the failed loans. Lincoln Savings & Loan, lost $3.4 billion, the most expensive savings and loan crash in the nation's history.

In January of 1995, the RTC closed its doors, but the fallout from the savings and loan crisis continues. The latest wrinkle is a series of lawsuits charging the federal government with breach of contract over its alleged failure to help failed thrifts rebuild through "favorable regulatory treatment." In United States v. Winstar Corp. the Supreme Court ruled that the government defaulted on its promise to the thrift. That decision generated hundreds of other lawsuits making the same charges against the government. The Justice Department estimates that damages could eventually reach as high as $32 billion.