Seized Maine bank appeals to high court.(Maine National Bank seeks US Supreme Court decision over power of regulators)(Brief Article)

The now defunct Maine National Bank has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether regulators can force a bank to cover losses stemming from the failure of an affiliate.

In its May 6 appeal, a bankruptcy trustee argued on behalf of the bank's shareholders that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. violated the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment when it seized the institution in 1991. The FDIC relied on the cross-guarantee provision of the 1989 thrift bailout law, which requires banks to cover their affiliates' losses.

"The Supreme Court has taken several takings cases," said Jeffrey C. Martin, a partner in the Washington law firm of Shea & Gardner …