Burke v. Smith

• Decision Date: 31 May 2001
• Docket Number: No. 00-15088,00-15088
• Citation: 252 F.3d 1260
• Parties: (11th Cir. 2001) Tammy BURKE, Royal Insurance Company, Plaintiffs-Appellees, Linda Burke Daniels, Plaintiff-Third-Party Defendant-Appellee, v. John SMITH, Heyl Truck Lines, Inc., Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit

Page 1260

252 F.3d 1260 (11th Cir. 2001)

Tammy BURKE, Royal Insurance Company, Plaintiffs-Appellees, Linda Burke Daniels, Plaintiff-Third-Party Defendant-Appellee, v. John SMITH, Heyl Truck Lines, Inc., Defendants-Third-Party Plaintiff-Appellants.

No. 00-15088.

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

May 31, 2001.

[Copyrighted Material Omitted] Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama.(No. 95-01329-CV-AR-M), William M. Acker, Jr., Judge.

Before DUBINA and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges, and DUPLANTIER^*, District Judge.

KRAVITCH, Circuit Judge:

John Smith and Heyl Truck Lines, Inc. (collectively, the "Defendants") appeal the district court's order setting aside the dismissal of a wrongful death action filed against them by four plaintiffs. The district court initially dismissed the action pursuant to a voluntary settlement agreement and release. Subsequently, Tammy Burke ("Tammy"), one of the plaintiffs in the action, filed a motion for relief from judgment of dismissal, which the court granted pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(4). For reasons expressed below, we affirm in part and vacate in part, holding that the district court properly found the judgment void, but that it should have set aside the dismissal as to all parties, not merely as to Tammy.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 25, 1995, four plaintiffs commenced an action against the Defendants for the wrongful death of Dennis Burke, who was killed in a trucking accident on April 17, 1995. The plaintiffs named in the complaint are (1) Linda Burke,¹ individually as the wife of Dennis Burke; (2) Linda Burke, as administratrix of Dennis Burke's estate; (3) Tammy Burke, Dennis Burke's daughter, by and through her mother and next friend, Linda Burke; and (4) Royal Insurance Company.² Tammy was seventeen years old at the time of her father's death and a minor under Alabama law.

Less than two months after the filing of the complaint, the Defendants settled the case for $987,500. In accordance with the settlement, Linda Burke ("Linda") released the Defendants from all claims brought by, inter alia, "the dependents of Dennis Robert Burke." The release, however, was signed solely by "Linda S. Burke, as Administratrix of the Estate of Dennis Burke" and by "Linda S. Burke, individually." Tammy did not sign the release, nor did Linda execute her signature in her capacity as "Next Friend" of Tammy. Pursuant to the settlement and a stipulation of dismissal, the district court dismissed the complaint with prejudice. It is undisputed that the district court neither appointed a guardian ad litem to represent Tammy nor conducted a fairness hearing with respect to the settlement agreement.

After reaching the age of majority, Tammy filed a motion in the original lawsuit pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(4), claiming the judgment of dismissal was void because no guardian ad litem had been appointed on her behalf and no hearing was held to determine the fairness of the settlement.³ The district court granted the motion and reinstated the case. In a subsequent order, the district court clarified that the judgment of dismissal was set aside only as to Tammy, not as to the other original plaintiffs.⁴ Defendants timely filed this interlocutory appeal, which we permitted under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(b).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

This court typically reviews a district court's ruling upon a Rule 60(b) motion for abuse of discretion. See American Bankers Ins. Co. v. Northwestern Nat'l Ins. Co., 198 F.3d 1332, 1338 (11th Cir.1999). However, "[u]nlike motions pursuant to other subsections of Rule 60(b), Rule 60(b)(4) motions leave no margin for consideration of the district court's discretion as the judgments themselves are by definition either legal nullities or not." Carter v. Fenner, 136 F.3d 1000, 1005 (5th Cir.1998). Therefore, "[w]e review de novo ... a district court's ruling upon a Rule 60(b)(4) motion to set aside a judgment as void, because the question of the validity of a judgment is a legal one." Export Group v. Reef Indus., Inc., 54 F.3d 1466, 1469 (9th Cir.1995); see also Combs v. Nick Garin Trucking, 825 F.2d 437, 441 (D.C.Cir.1987) ("[T]here is no question of discretion on the part of the court when a motion is under Rule 60(b)(4).") (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

A.

Pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4), a court may relieve a party from a final judgment or order based on a finding that the judgment is void. Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(4). Generally, a judgment is void under Rule 60(b)(4) "if the court that rendered it lacked jurisdiction of the subject matter, or of the parties, or if it acted in a manner inconsistent with due process of law." In re Edwards, 962 F.2d 641, 644 (7th Cir.1992) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted); see also Rice v. Ford Motor Co., 88 F.3d 914, 918 n. 7 (11th Cir.1996). A judgment also is void for Rule 60(b)(4) purposes if the rendering court was powerless to enter it. Gschwind v. Cessna Aircraft Co., 232 F.3d 1342, 1346 (10th Cir.2000). Accordingly, at least one other circuit has held that a consent judgment is void where the parties fail to follow state requirements regarding the settlement of a minor's claim. See Carter, 136 F.3d at 1009.

In the present case, the district court set aside the judgment of dismissal because (1) the court failed to appoint or consider the necessity of appointing a guardian ad litem to represent Tammy and (2) the court failed to hold a fairness hearing before dismissing Tammy's claims pursuant to the settlement agreement. Defendants contend on appeal that federal law does not entitle Tammy to either protection. In response, Tammy argues that a conflict of interest between her mother and herself necessitated the appointment of a guardian ad litem under federal law and that she was entitled to a fairness hearing under Alabama state law.

1. Guardian ad litem

It is well established that "[t]he appointment of a guardian ad litem is a procedural question controlled by Rule 17(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure." Roberts v. Ohio Cas. Ins. Co., 256 F.2d 35, 38 (5th Cir.1958).⁵ Rule 17(c) provides in part:

The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for an infant or incompetent person not otherwise represented in an action or shall make such other order as it deems proper for the protection of the infant or incompetent person.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 17(c). Rule 17(c) does not require that a district court appoint a guardian ad litem in all cases. See Roberts, 256 F.2d at 39. Rather, "Rule 17(c) authorizes the district court to appoint a guardian ad litem 'for an infant ... not otherwise represented in an action....' " Croce v. Bromley Corp., 623 F.2d 1084, 1093 (5th Cir.1980) (citing Fed.R.Civ.P. 17(c)). In the present case, Tammy was "otherwise represented" by her mother who brought this action on her behalf. Thus, Rule 17(c) did not require the court to appoint a guardian ad litem. See Croce, 623 F.2d at 1093 (holding that failure to appoint guardian ad litem did not constitute error where minor was represented by mother bringing action on his behalf).

Furthermore, unless a conflict of interest exists between the representative and minor, a district court need not even consider the question whether a guardian ad litem should be appointed. See id. Generally, when a minor is represented by a parent who is a party to the lawsuit and who has the same interests as the child there is no inherent conflict of interest. See id; see also Gonzalez v. Reno, 86 F. Supp 2d 1167, 1185 (S.D.Fla.2000), aff'd 212 F.3d 1338 (11th Cir.2000) ("[W]hen a parent brings an action on behalf of a child, and it is evident that the interests of each are the same, no need exists for someone other than the parent to represent the child's interests under Rule 17(c)."). Where it is evident that a conflict of interest exists between the parent and minor, however, the district court has a duty to determine whether a guardian ad litem is needed. See In re Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R.R. Co., 788 F.2d 1280, 1282 (7th Cir.1986) ( "If there was some reason to think that [the infant's] mother would not represent [the infant's] interests adequately, the district court would, we may assume, be required (and certainly would be empowered) to appoint a guardian ad litem to represent [the infant].").

Here, Tammy's mother was a party to the lawsuit and had similar interests as Tammy. Therefore, we perceive no inherent conflict of interest between Tammy and her mother as representative. Furthermore, although Tammy alleges that her mother never gave her a share of the settlement proceeds, we cannot conclude from the record that an actual conflict existed at the time the case was before the district court. Accordingly, we hold that the district court was not required to consider whether or not the appointment of a guardian ad litem was necessary.

2. Settlement Hearing

Notwithstanding our holding on the issue of guardianship, we agree with the district court that it should have conducted a fairness hearing before dismissing Tammy's claims pursuant to the settlement agreement. Under Alabama law, a hearing to determine the fairness of a settlement must be held in order for that settlement to be binding on a minor party, even where the minor is represented by a next friend or other guardian. See Large v. Hayes, 534 So.2d 1101, 1105 (Ala.1988) ("This Court has recognized the special nature of an attempted settlement of a minor's claim. Before such a settlement can be approved, there must be a hearing, with an extensive examination of the facts, to determine whether the settlement is in the best interest of the minor.") (citation omitted); Abernathy v. Colbert County Hosp. Bd., 388 So.2d 1207 (Ala.1980). Defendants do not dispute that Alabama law requires a hearing, nor that the district court failed to conduct one in this case. Rather, they argue that Alabama law is not controlling on this issue...