Culwick v. Wood
Decision Date | 18 May 2019 |
Docket Number | 1:15-cv-05868 (ENV) (SMG) |
Citation | 384 F.Supp.3d 328 |
Parties | Vivienne CULWICK, as Administratrix of the Estate of Steven Eliot Wood, Plaintiff, v. Andrae E. WOOD, Defendant. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
Perry S. Friedman, New York, NY, for Plaintiff.
Anthony Proscia, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP, New York, NY, Adam Matthew Marshall, Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP, Woodbury, NY, for Defendant.
Plaintiff Vivienne Culwick, as administratrix of the estate of Steven Eliot Wood (the "Estate"), commenced this action on October 13, 2015. ( Compl., ECF No. 1 ). After twice amending it, the complaint presents claims for breach of contract, conversion, unjust enrichment, and declaratory judgment arising from the distribution of the proceeds of the decedent's annuity fund and pension plan. (Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 34-79, ECF No. 67 ). Counterposed are counterclaims asserted by defendant Andrae E. Wood, for breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and tortious interference with contract. (Answer ¶¶ 99-129, ECF No. 68 ). The parties have cross-moved for summary judgment. For the reasons that follow, the motions are granted in part and denied in part, and the matter is respectfully referred to Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold for a report and recommendation on damages.
Steven Eliot Wood married Andrae E. Wood on September 24, 1984. (Def.'s Rule 56.1 Statement ¶ 6, ECF No. 94-21 ("Def.'s 56.1") ). About 12 years later, in 1996, the decedent became romantically involved with Culwick. (Id. ¶ 10). Once Andrae Wood discovered the affair, her relationship with her husband became strained. (Id. ¶ 11). With his marriage disintegrating, the decedent and Culwick would begin living together full time in 1998. (Id. ¶ 10). By 2004, the decedent and Wood were completely separated, (id. ¶ 16), and, in April 2006, Wood was granted a divorce, (id. ¶¶ 17-18).
On or about June 26, 2006, the Woods executed a property settlement agreement. (Id. ¶ 23; see Property Settlement Agreement, Decl. of Anthony J. Proscia, Ex. G, ECF No. 94-8 ("Agreement") ). This agreement was incorporated into the final judgment of divorce, entered on or about July 28, 2006. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 26). Three provisions of the property settlement agreement are relevant to this action. First, the agreement provides that "nothing herein contained shall require either party to renounce or disclaim any gift, devise or bequest which he or she may be given by the other's Will, Trust, or other document." (Agreement ¶ B(2)). Second, it states, (Id. ¶ D(3)). Finally, it provides that "[e]xcept as herein otherwise provided, each party may dispose of his or her property in any way." (Id. ¶ B(3)).
The decedent's life work was as a stagehand, and he was a member of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Local Union No. 1. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 40). As a union member, he received a variety of benefits, including an annuity fund and a pension plan, (id. ¶ 43), governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, 29 U.S.C. §§ 1001 - 1461 ("ERISA"). He had designated Andrae Wood as the primary beneficiary of the annuity and pension. (Id. ¶¶ 44, 48). He also had designated his father as the contingent beneficiary. (Id. ¶¶ 45, 49). Even after the divorce, the decedent did not change the primary beneficiary from Andrae Wood to anyone else. (Id. ¶ 59). Defendant contends that this was despite the fact that union members are frequently reminded to keep their benefit forms up to date and the forms are widely available. (Id. ¶¶ 53-58, 60-62). Culwick responds that these facts are immaterial and unsupported by documentary evidence. (Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Counterstatement ¶¶ 53-58, 60-62, ECF No. 94-36 ("Pl.'s 56.1") ).
On or about December 30, 2012, death would find Steven Wood. (Def.'s 56.1 ¶ 34). He died without a will, (id. ¶ 35), and unmarried, (id. ¶ 38). He was survived by his father, the sole beneficiary of his estate. (Id. ¶ 39). In mid-February 2013, Andrae Wood learned of her former husband's death. (Id. ¶ 63). She was contacted by someone from the annuity and pension fund, who advised her that she was designated as the primary beneficiary of the decedent's funds. (Id. ¶ 64). She completed the forms necessary to transfer the benefits to her name, (id. ¶ 66), and began receiving benefits in March 2013, (id. ¶ 67).
The decedent's father and the Estate also submitted claims to the fund. (Id. ¶ 68). The fund denied these claims because Steven Wood had designated Andrae Wood as the primary beneficiary. (Id. ¶ 69). Despite receiving several demand letters, (id. ¶¶ 70-71), Andrae Wood did not relinquish the benefits to the decedent's father or the Estate, (id. ¶ 72). Later came a change in the dramatis personae . By a document executed on February 17, 2017, the decedent's father assigned to Culwick, as administratrix of the Estate, his claims against Andrae Wood arising out of her claim to the pension and annuity fund benefits. (Id. ¶ 74).
A district court must grant summary judgment to the movant if "there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a) ; see also Celotex Corp. v. Catrett , 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S. Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed. 2d 265 (1986). A court's responsibility in assessing the merits of a summary judgment motion is not to try issues of fact, but merely to "determine whether there are issues of fact to be tried." Sutera v. Schering Corp. , 73 F.3d 13, 16 (2d Cir. 1995) (quoting Katz v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. , 737 F.2d 238, 244 (2d Cir. 1984) ); see also Kaytor v. Elec. Boat Corp. , 609 F.3d 537, 545 (2d Cir. 2010) ( ).
The moving party bears the burden of demonstrating that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact, see Jeffreys v. City of New York , 426 F.3d 549, 553 (2d Cir. 2005), and the motion court will resolve all ambiguities and draw all permissible factual inferences in favor of the party opposing the motion, see Sec. Ins. Co. of Hartford v. Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. , 391 F.3d 77, 83 (2d Cir. 2004) ; Gummo v. Village of Depew , 75 F.3d 98, 107 (2d Cir. 1996) (); Heilweil v. Mount Sinai Hosp. , 32 F.3d 718, 721 (2d Cir. 1994) ( ); Brooklyn Heights Ass'n, Inc. v. Nat'l Park Serv. , 818 F. Supp. 2d 564, 567 (E.D.N.Y. 2011) ().
Whether a fact is material is dictated by the substantive law governing the claim on which summary judgment is sought. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc. , 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S. Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed. 2d 202 (1986) () ; Heilweil , 32 F.3d at 721 (). Thus, where the moving party "will bear the burden of proof at trial," that party bears the initial procedural burden at summary judgment of demonstrating that undisputed facts "establish the existence of [each] element essential to that party's case." Celotex Corp. , 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
If the moving party meets its initial burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party. See George v. Reisdorf Bros., Inc. , 410 F. App'x 382, 384 (2d Cir. 2011) (summary order). The nonmoving party may not rely solely on "conclusory allegations" or "speculation" in order to defeat a properly supported motion for summary judgment. Scotto v. Almenas , 143 F.3d 105, 114 (2d Cir. 1998). Instead, the nonmoving party can prevail by "designat[ing] specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Celotex Corp. , 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548 (internal quotation marks omitted); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c). If the evidence favoring the nonmoving party is "merely colorable, or is not significantly probative, summary judgment may be granted." Anderson , 477 U.S. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted). Moreover, when "the nonmoving party has failed to make a sufficient showing on an essential element of [his] case with respect to which [he] has the burden of proof," summary judgment should be granted. Celotex Corp. , 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548.
Andrae Wood first argues that Culwick lacks standing to bring this action, which, if true, would be fatal. Article III of the Constitution "limits the ‘judicial power’ of the United States to the resolution of ‘cases’ and ‘controversies.’ " Valley Forge Christian Coll. v. Ams. United for Separation of Church & State, Inc. , 454 U.S. 464, 471, 102 S. Ct. 752, 70 L.Ed. 2d 700 (1982). Simply put, Supreme Court precedent requires that a plaintiff have standing to sue and that the requirements of standing continue to be satisfied throughout the...
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