Estate of Butler v. Maharishi Univ. Of Management

• Citation: 460 F.Supp.2d 1030
• Decision Date: 02 November 2006
• Docket Number: No. 4: 06-cv-00072-JEG.,4: 06-cv-00072-JEG.
• Parties: ESTATE OF Levi Andelin BUTLER, by and through his Personal Representative, Joshua BUTLER, Plaintiff, v. MAHARISHI UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT, and Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of Iowa

460 F.Supp.2d 1030

ESTATE OF Levi Andelin BUTLER, by and through his Personal Representative, Joshua BUTLER, Plaintiff, v. MAHARISHI UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT, and Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation, Defendants.

No. 4: 06-cv-00072-JEG.

United States District Court, S.D. Iowa, Central Division.

November 2, 2006.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Lawrence P, McLellan, Lawrence F. Scalise, Sullivan & Ward, PC, Stephen R. Eckley, Belin, Lamson, McCormick, Zumbach & Flynn, PC, Des Moines, IA, for Plaintiff.

Nathan John Overberg, Steven L. Serck, Ahlers & Cooney PC, Richard G. Santi, Ahlers Cooney Dorweiler Haynie Smith & Allbee, Christopher P. Jannes, Jodie Lynn Clark, Davis Brovm Koehn Shors & Roberts, PC, Des Moines, IA, for Defendants.

ORDER ON MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

GRITZNER, District Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant Maharishi University of Management's Motion for Summary Judgment. Defendant moved for summary judgment on Plaintiffs claims on May 22, 2006. Hearing was held on the motion on September 25, 2006.¹ Attorney Steven Serck appeared for Defendant; and attorneys Lawrence McLellan, Lawrence Scalise, and Stephen Eckley appeared for Plaintiff. The matter is now fully submitted for review. For the reasons discussed below, Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment must be denied.

SUMMARY OF MATERIAL FACTS.

Levi Andelin Butler began attending Maharishi University of Management ("MUM") as a student September of 2003. On March 1, 2004, Shuvender Sem, another MUM student, attacked fellow student John Killian during class, stabbing Killian in the face and throat with a pen. A fellow student came to Killian's aid, and the attack came to an end.² Sem was placed into the custody of Joel Wynsong, the dean of men, and was taken to Wynsong's campus apartment. After completing some meditation, Wynsong discovered that Sem had left the apartment. Wynsong subsequently left his apartment to find Sem and eventually located him in the student dining hall. Wynsong did not immediately take Sem back into custody but instead left him to mingle with the other students as Wynsong observed. Sem engaged Levi Butler, who was present in the dining hall, in conversation, and then suddenly pulled a paring knife from his coat and began stabbing Levi in the chest multiple times. Students witnessing the attack phoned 911; however, by the time paramedics reached Levi, he was unresponsive, and he passed away later that evening. The cause of death was stab wounds to the chest.³

On June 1, 2004, Khal and Evelyn Butler, Levi's parents, were appointed to serve as co-administrators of Levi's estate. Khal and Evelyn retained legal counsel in Iowa to investigate the circumstances surrounding Levi's death. The Estate of Levi Butler ("the Estate") asserts that Khal and Evelyn's legal counsel in Iowa advised them that in addition to claims on behalf of the Estate, under California law, as Levi's parents, they would also have a personal claim in their own right. Khal and Evelyn reportedly became concerned that conflicts could arise from their dual roles as co-administrators in an Iowa federal lawsuit and co-plaintiffs in a California state lawsuit. Because of this perceived potential for conflict, on January 19, 2006, Khal and Evelyn signed a petition requesting that they be allowed to resign as co-administrators of the Estate and that Joshua Butler, Levi's brother, be appointed in their stead. Khal and Evelyn claim that unbeknownst to either of them or their Iowa legal counsel, this petition was not filed by California probate counsel until February 2, 2006. On February 1, 2006, Joshua signed a petition for Letters of Administration, which was filed on February 2, 2006.

Plaintiff asserts that sometime in January, Khal was informed that "everything had been taken care of and thus believed that the change of administrators had been completed, believing that the change in administrators was a mere formality requiring nothing more than court approval. Based upon this belief, Khal advised the Estate's legal counsel in Iowa, attorney Stephen Eckley, that the change in administrators had been completed and that Joshua was now the Estate's administrator. On February 14, 2006, the California Probate Court set the hearing on Khal and Evelyn's petition to resign as co-administrators for March 13, 2006.

On February 24, 2006, the Estate of Levi Andelin Butler, listing Joshua as the personal representative of the Estate, filed a Complaint in this court against MUM and the Maharishi Vedic Education Development Corporation ("MVEDC"). This Court has original jurisdiction over the claims asserted based upon 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1). The amount in controversy exceeds $75,000, and the action is between citizens of different states: MUM is an Iowa corporation, MVEDC is a Massachusetts corporation, and Plaintiff is a citizen of California.⁴

In the Complaint, the Estate listed counts of gross negligence (count one), premises liability (count two), fraudulent misrepresentation (count three), negligence (count four), and negligent misrepresentation (count five).⁵ The Estate contends that it was Khal and Evelyn, as co-administrators of the Estate, that directed Iowa counsel to file the Complaint in this matter.

On February 27, 2006, Khal and Evelyn filed an action against MUM, MVEDC, and others in California's Riverside Superior Court, naming themselves, and not the Estate, as plaintiffs.⁶ In that case, Khal and Evelyn alleged claims for wrongful death/gross negligence, negligence, premises liability, fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, breach of contract, California Consumer Legal Remedies Act violations, and Unfair Business Practices violations.

On March 10, 2006, MVEDC, as an interested party in the California probate action, filed an objection to Joshua's petition to be named administrator of his brother's estate and to Khal and Evelyn's petition to resign. MVEDC asserted in its objection that Khal and Evelyn, by attempting to withdraw as co-administrators and have Joshua appointed in their place, were trying to block legitimate consolidation of the California action and the Iowa federal court action. Hearing was held on the matter on March 13, 2006, at which time MVEDC requested to postpone the hearing. A subsequent hearing on the matter was held on April 13, 2006.

On April 20, 2006, the Estate filed an Amended Complaint in the Iowa federal court action, asserting claims of premises liability (count one), fraudulent misrepresentation (count two), and negligence (count three). The Amended Complaint dropped the claims for gross negligence and negligent misrepresentation, and again listed Joshua as the personal representative of the Estate. Again, the Estate contends that it was Khal and Evelyn, as coadministrators of the Estate, that directed Iowa counsel to file the Amended Complaint.

In an order dated April 27, 2006, and filed on April 28, the California probate court granted Khal and Evelyn's petition to resign. In a separate order dated April 27, the court granted Joshua's petition for Letters of Appointment. This order, filed April 28, indicated that the appointment was not effective until letters were issued. Joshua's Letters of Appointment were issued on April 28, 2006.

On May 22, 2006, MUM filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, claiming that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law because the wrongful death action was not commenced by an individual with capacity to sue prior to the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. MUM requests the Complaint be dismissed in its entirety.

Plaintiff resists the Motion for Summary Judgment. Plaintiff asserts that under Iowa law and applicable federal law, Joshua Butler's appointment as estate administrator would relate back to the time this lawsuit was filed.

APPLICABLE LAW AND DISCUSSION

I. Summary Judgment Standard

Defendant is entitled to summary judgment if the affidavits, pleadings, and discovery materials "show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that [defendant] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). "Although we view the facts in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party, in order to defeat a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party cannot simply create a factual dispute; rather, there must be a genuine dispute over those facts that could actually affect the outcome of the lawsuit." Carter v. St. Louis University, 167 F.3d 398, 400 (8th Cir.1999).

To preclude the entry of summary judgment, the nonmovant must make a sufficient showing on every essential element of its case for which it has the burden of proof at trial. Buettner v. Arch Coal Sales Co., 216 F.3d 707, 718 (8th Cir.2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1077, 121 S.Ct. 773, 148 L.Ed.2d 672 (2001); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Lickteig v. Business Men's Assur. Co. of America, 61 F.3d 579, 583 (8th Cir.1995). The nonmoving party must go beyond the pleadings and by affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories, or admissions on file, designate "specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial." Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(e); Celotex, 477 U.S. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548; Beyerbach v. Sears, 49 F.3d 1324, 1325 (8th Cir.1995). The Court views all the facts in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party and gives that party the benefit of all reasonable inferences that can be drawn from the facts. Lickteig, 61 F.3d at 583.

II. Applicable Statute of Limitations

The three causes of action that the Estate has alleged — premises liability, fraudulent misrepresentation, and negligence — are all based upon the injury and subsequent death of Levi. "The applicable statute of limitations is determined by the nature of the cause of action, which is in turn determined by the rights sued upon." Rodenburg v. Lathrop, 2001 WL 1580498, *2 (Iowa App.2001). There is a...