Celec v. Edinboro Univ.
| Decision Date | 18 September 2015 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1:15–cv–2. |
| Citation | 132 F.Supp.3d 651 |
| Parties | Albert CELEC, et al., Plaintiffs, v. EDINBORO UNIVERSITY, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Western District of Pennsylvania |
John Stember, Maureen Davidson–Welling, Stember Cohn & Davidson–Welling, LLC, Pittsburgh, PA, for Plaintiffs.
Timothy Mazzocca, Office of Attorney General, Pittsburgh, PA, James A. Keller, Matthew J. Smith, Nicholas J. Nastasi, Jr., Saul Ewing LLP, Philadelphia, PA, for Defendants.
This civil action arises out of a dispute concerning a supplemental life insurance policy which the late Dr. Philip Ginnetti purchased while he was employed at Edinboro University in Erie County, Pennsylvania. The policy in question was issued by Life Insurance Company of North America ("LINA"), a subsidiary of Cigna Corporation ("Cigna"). Plaintiff Albert Celec was the domestic partner of Ginnetti during the time the policy was in effect. Following Ginnetti's death, Plaintiff sought benefits under Ginnetti's supplemental life insurance policy, but his requests were denied. Thereafter, Plaintiff commenced this lawsuit in the Erie County Court of Common Pleas, naming Edinboro University, Cigna, and LINA as Defendants. The case was removed to this Court on January 5, 2015 (ECF No. I).1
Presently pending before the Court are the Defendants' motions to dismiss the Complaint. For the reasons that follow, these motions will be granted.
Plaintiff is a 55 year-old male who resides in Boardman, Ohio. (Compl. ¶ 8, ECF No. 1–1.) From 1994 until Ginnetti's death in June 2012, Plaintiff and Ginnetti were domestic partners and lived together in a jointly-owned home in Boardman. (Id. ¶¶ 2, 7–8, 16.) In 1999, Ginnetti and Plaintiff executed a Shared Living Agreement ("SLA"). (Compl. Ex. E.) Under the terms of that agreement, Ginnetti and Plaintiff were required to maintain life insurance on one another, name each other as beneficiary on any life insurance policies taken out on themselves, put their property into a trust for the sole benefit of each other, and name one another as sole heir and beneficiary under their respective wills. After Ginnetti's death, Plaintiff became the executor and sole heir and beneficiary of his estate. (Compl. ¶ 8.)
Edinboro University (hereafter, "Edinboro" or the "University") is a public university and a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education ("PASSHE"). (Compl. ¶¶ 9, 12.) As an affiliate of PASSHE, Edinboro is bound by Executive Order 2003–10, which prohibits employment discrimination due to sexual orientation. In 2007, PASSHE adopted a Same–Sex Domestic Partner policy, which effectively made Edinboro's Management Benefits Program ("MBP") available to qualified same-sex domestic partners of managerial employees. Edinboro has also adopted an EEO policy prohibiting discrimination in employment and participation in benefit programs due to sexual orientation or marital status.
In 2010, Ginnetti left a secure job as Dean of Youngstown State University's Beeghley School of Education to accept a position as Provost and Vice President at Edinboro. (Compl. ¶¶ 1, 18.) Ginnetti's decision was driven largely by the fact that Edinboro prohibits employment discrimination due to sexual orientation and marital status, and because participation in Edinboro's MBP would allow Ginnetti to provide healthcare and other benefits to Plaintiff. (Id. ¶¶ 1, 21.)
Shortly after Ginnetti was hired by Edinboro, he and Plaintiff applied for recognition of Plaintiff as Ginnetti's qualified domestic partner, so that the two could qualify for PASSHE's Same–Sex Domestic Partner Program. (Compl. ¶¶ 2, 23–26.) Based on the information provided by Ginnetti and Plaintiff, Edinboro recognized Plaintiff as Ginnetti's qualified domestic partner and thereafter provided the couple benefits under the MBP, including health care, until Ginnetti's death. (Id. ¶¶ 2, 24–26.) During the course of Ginnetti's employment at Edinboro, he and Plaintiff regularly attended campus events together and were well known as domestic partners. (Id. ¶ 27.) In July 2010, Ginnetti purchased a house in Edinboro so that he and Plaintiff would have a place close to campus to stay or entertain others, when needed. (Id. ¶ 22.)
Through its MBP, Edinboro provided Ginnetti $50,000 in life insurance from Prudential and a right to purchase supplemental life insurance coverage. (Compl. ¶¶ 3, 28.) Ginnetti ultimately purchased $100,000 in additional life insurance coverage from Cigna.2 (Id. ¶¶ 3, 29) Ginnetti made it clear to Edinboro that Plaintiff was his intended beneficiary under both life insurance policies. (Id. ¶ 30.) Ginnetti expressly planned that the proceeds of the Cigna policy would be used to pay off the mortgage on the Edinboro house in the event that he predeceased Plaintiff, as that house would pass to Plaintiff under the terms of Ginnetti's will. (Id. ¶ 32.)
When Ginnetti was in the process of purchasing the two life insurance policies, he signed certain paperwork at the direction of an Edinboro human resources employee by the name of Linda Harrison. (Compl. ¶ 33.) In the process of completing the paperwork, Harrison neglected to fill in Plaintiff's name on the beneficiary designation line and further neglected to alert Ginnetti about the omission. (Id. ¶ 34.) The Prudential and Cigna policies both provided that, in the absence of a beneficiary designation, proceeds would be paid to a surviving spouse, if one existed. (Id. ¶ 35; Compl. Ex. A at p. 14.)
On June 29, 2012, Ginnetti died and, in accordance with his will, Plaintiff was appointed executor of his estate. (Compl. ¶¶ 36–37.) Shortly thereafter, Edinboro sent Plaintiff documentation which revealed that it had failed to list him as the beneficiary when it prepared the applications for the two life insurance policies. (Id. ¶ 38.) When confronted with this omission, Harrison apologized to Plaintiff and acknowledged her mistake. (Id. ¶ 39.)
On July 25, 2012, Sid Booker, Edinboro's Associate Vice President of Human Resources and Faculty Relations, wrote to Cigna and Prudential at Plaintiff's request in order "to verify and provide evidence of [the Celec–Ginnetti] partnership." (Id. ¶ 40.) Booker advised the insurance companies that:
[w]hen Dr. Ginnetti ... became eligible for health care coverage ... he requested that his domestic partner, Albert S. Celec, be added as a covered dependent. Dr. Ginnetti did provide a PASSHE Same–Sex Domestic Partnership Certification and supporting evidence ... Albert S. Celec was covered under the PASSHE Group Health Program as the qualified domestic partner of Phillip E. Ginnetti effective July 1, 2012 through the date of death, June 29, 2012.
After sending the letters, Booker advised Plaintiff that, going forward, Edinboro intended to treat the matter as an issue that was strictly between Plaintiff and the insurance carriers. (Compl. ¶ 41.)
Plaintiff submitted claims to both Prudential and Cigna on August 3, 2012, requesting payment under each of the life insurance policies. Prudential subsequently paid the $50,000 life insurance policy proceeds to Plaintiff after determining that Plaintiff was Ginnetti's rightful beneficiary. (Compl. ¶¶ 4, 43.)
Cigna, on the other hand, denied Plaintiff's claim. (Compl. ¶¶ 4, 44.) In a letter dated August 22, 2012, Cigna's representative advised that, pursuant to the applicable policy language, in cases where no beneficiary is named on the policy, death benefits are payable "to the first surviving class of the following living relatives: spouse; child or children; mother or father; brothers or sisters; or to the executor or administrators of the Insured's estate." (Compl. ¶ 44; Compl. Ex. I, p. 1.) The representative further advised that the claim was not payable to Plaintiff because Plaintiff "[did] not meet the definition of a Spouse and [was] not in any other class of living relatives." (Compl. ¶ 47; Compl. Ex. I at pp. 1–2.)
While Plaintiff's appeal of the claim denial was pending, Cigna sent several "Preferential Beneficiary" notices to Ginnetti's mother, Irene Ginnetti. (Compl. ¶¶ 48–49.) On October 16, 2012, Mrs. Ginnetti wrote to Cigna, stating that it was "[her] belief that this policy was intended for Albert S. Celec, Jr.," and she urged Cigna to "do the right thing for all people involved and pay this policy's proceeds" to Plaintiff. (Compl. Ex. J.) In the meantime, Edinboro President Julie Wollman had telephoned Cigna's offices and left a voicemail message indicating her view that Plaintiff was the rightful beneficiary to Ginnetti's life insurance policy. (Compl. ¶ 50.)
Despite these measures, Cigna denied Plaintiff's appeal, but it allowed Plaintiff to submit additional supporting information for its review within sixty days. Plaintiff complied by submitting additional argument and evidence in support of his claim; this included the SLA, pursuant to which Ginnetti had agreed to name Plaintiff as the beneficiary on any life insurance policy he obtained.
In January 2013, while Plaintiff's appeal was pending, Cigna paid the $100,000 policy proceeds to Ginnetti's mother, notwithstanding Mrs. Ginnetti's letter urging that the proceeds be paid to Plaintiff. (Compl. ¶ 54.) In July 2012, Cigna formally denied Plaintiff's appeal, reasoning that:
Based on these events, Plaintiff commenced the instant litigation, both in his individual...
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