American Airlines, Inc. v. Block

• Citation: 905 F.2d 12
• Decision Date: 23 May 1990
• Docket Number: D,No. 893,893
• Parties: AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., Appellee, v. Marsha Ann BLOCK, Interpleader-Appellee, Robert M. Block, Interpleader-Appellant. ocket 89-9019.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit)

Page 12

905 F.2d 12

AMERICAN AIRLINES, INC., Appellee, v. Marsha Ann BLOCK, Interpleader-Appellee Robert M. Block, Interpleader-Appellant.

No. 893, Docket 89-9019.

United States Court of Appeals Second Circuit.

Argued Feb. 27, 1990.

Decided May 23, 1990.

Martin I. Saperstein, Garden City, N.Y., for appellant Robert M. Block.

Abraham Hecht, Forest Hills, N.Y., for appellee Marsha Block.

Bigham Englar Jones & Houston, New York City, for appellee American Airlines, Inc.

Before OAKES, Chief Judge, FEINBERG and WALKER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Robert M. Block, a pilot for American Airlines, appeals an amended order and judgment entered on October 10, 1989, by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Reena Raggi, Judge, awarding his former wife, Marsha Ann Block, a money judgment in the amount of $60,628.29 for matrimonial support obligations arising from May 1986 until April 1989. The judgment was to be satisfied, pending a partial stay for appeal, from a fund then amounting to $61,200 deducted from Robert Block's pay and deposited into the registry of the district court pursuant to a federal interpleader action brought by American Airlines. We affirm in part and vacate and remand in part.

FACTS

Pursuant to a divorce decree rendered by the New York State Supreme Court for Nassau County on February 4, 1986, Marsha Block was entitled to support payments from Robert Block at the rate of $450 per week from November 14, 1984, through November 14, 1989, and at the rate of $260 per week from November 21, 1989, through November 21, 1990. When Robert Block failed to meet his maintenance obligations, Marsha Block brought successive actions in the Supreme Court for Nassau County to reduce the arrears owed to final judgment. New York law provides that unless support obligations are entered pursuant to final judgment, they subsequently may be modified or cancelled if the defaulting spouse becomes unable to pay or if there is a substantial change in circumstances. See N.Y.Dom.Rel.Law. Secs. 236, Pt. B(9)(b), 244 (McKinney Supp.1990). Marsha Block obtained judgments on May 6, 1987, and August 25, 1987, for a total of $17,416.88, corresponding to arrears owed from May 23, 1986, to June 1, 1987. She was also awarded funds for costs and attorney's fees associated with these two actions.

The instant litigation in federal court arose from Marsha Block's attempt to garnish Robert Block's wages from American Airlines. In June 1986, Marsha Block served an income execution on American Airlines pursuant to Section 5241 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules ("CPLR"), directing garnishment of $900 per week of Robert Block's wages. American Airlines initially declined to honor the income execution for fear that the law of Texas, where Robert Block was then a resident, prohibited it from complying. In December 1987, Marsha Block sued American Airlines in Nassau County Supreme Court to enforce the income execution. In response, American Airlines commenced this interpleader action on February 26, 1988, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1335 (1982) and Rule 22 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The district court issued a temporary restraining order enjoining Marsha Block's state court action against American Airlines. The state court action was subsequently removed and consolidated with the Eastern District action. On April 6, 1988, the district court issued a wage order directing American Airlines to pay $3,600 per month into the registry of the district court pending determination whether Marsha Block was entitled to the funds.

In the meantime, back in state court, Robert Block moved the Nassau County Supreme Court on June 11, 1988, for a downward modification of maintenance obligations. Marsha Block cross-moved for a final judgment for arrears owing from June 1, 1987, to June 20, 1988. These state court motions remained pending for the duration of the litigation before the district court.

On December 19, 1988, the district court determined that Robert Block's status as a resident of Texas presented no bar to American Airlines' compliance with the income execution and the district court's distribution of collected funds to Marsha Block. It referred the matter to a magistrate for determination of amounts to be distributed. By amended order and judgment entered October 10, 1989, the district court awarded Marsha Block $60,628.29 from the interpleader fund for combined maintenance, arrears, and costs awarded in In this appeal, Robert Block argues that the district court either had no jurisdiction over this action or should have abstained in deference to state court proceedings. Moreover, he argues that interest and costs were not properly allowable as part of the award.

the prior state court judgments. The district court subsequently stayed its judgment pending appeal for all amounts above $22,000. On February 5, 1990, during the pendency of this appeal, the Nassau County Supreme Court denied Robert Block's motion for downward modification and awarded Marsha Block a judgment of $13,200 for arrears from June 1, 1987, to June 20, 1988.

DISCUSSION

Although matrimonial actions may ordinarily be instituted in federal court on diversity grounds, the Supreme Court in Barber v. Barber, 62 U.S. (21 How.) 582, 584, 16 L.Ed. 226 (1859), went so far as to disclaim all federal subject matter jurisdiction for some classes of matrimonial actions. As we have noted, however, the scope of this matrimonial exception to federal jurisdiction is "rather narrowly confined," Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon v. Rosenstiel, 490 F.2d 509, 514 (2d Cir.1973); only "where a federal court is asked to grant a divorce or annulment, determine support payments, or award custody of a child" does it generally decline jurisdiction pursuant to the matrimonial exception. Csibi v. Fustos, 670 F.2d 134, 137 (9th Cir.1982). By contrast, in Barber itself, the Supreme Court sustained jurisdiction over an action to enforce a state court alimony award. Here, as in Barber, the federal court has not been requested to determine marital status or to set the amount of support payments, but only to enforce a state court decree for support payments. ¹

Moreover, although no independent jurisdiction lies over Marsha Block's claims to those arrears or continuing maintenance obligations that were not reduced to any final judgment and therefore remained subject to modification by New York state courts, see Morris v. Morris, 273 F.2d 678, 681-82 (7th Cir.1960) (no jurisdiction over action to enforce continuing support obligations); see also Phillips, Nizer, 490 F.2d at 514 (noting jurisdictional distinction between claims based on final judgments as opposed to claims based on modifiable decrees), the non-final judgment claims in this action may be entertained as claims pendent to those pursuant to final state court judgments. See Phillips, Nizer, 490 F.2d at 515 n. 5. Therefore, we find the district court had jurisdiction over this matter.

Nevertheless, even if subject matter jurisdiction lies over a particular matrimonial action, federal courts may properly abstain from adjudicating such actions in view of the greater interest and expertise of state courts in this field. A federal court presented with matrimonial issues or issues "on the verge" of being matrimonial in...