John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Jordan, Civ. A. No. 93-K-1193.
| Decision Date | 15 November 1993 |
| Docket Number | Civ. A. No. 93-K-1193. |
| Citation | 836 F. Supp. 743 |
| Parties | JOHN HANCOCK MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff in Interpleader, v. Cameron JORDAN; Shannon Lee Gardner and James H. Gardner, as personal representatives of the Estate of Kermode H. Jordan; Stanley Wayne Dodds, as personal representative of the Estate of Pamela Jordan; Jacob P. Ind; Charles G. Ind, III; Justine Jordan; Christopher Jordan; and other unknown children of Kermode H. Jordan or Pamela Jordan, Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Leanne De Vos, Sherman & Howard, Denver, CO, for plaintiff.
Stephen Masciocchi, Frederick Meyer, Holland & Hart, Denver, CO, for S. Gardner, J. Gardner.
William Kirkman, Jr., Colorado Springs, CO, for S. Dodds, Charles Ind, III.
Richard Rufner, Englewood, CO, for Cameron Jordan.
This is an interpleader action in which defendants Shannon Lee Gardner and James H. Gardner, as personal representatives of the Estate of Kermode Jordan ("the Estate of Kermode Jordan"), defendant Stanley Wayne Dodds, as personal representative of the Estate of Pamela Jordan ("the Estate of Pamela Jordan") and other defendants, allegedly surviving children of one or both of Kermode Jordan and Pamela Jordan, have asserted an interest in life insurance proceeds under the terms of a group life insurance policy ("the Policy") issued by the stakeholder, John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company ("John Hancock"), to Kermode Jordan's employer.
I granted an order requiring John Hancock to deposit the disputed benefits under the Policy into the court registry and dismissing John Hancock with prejudice from the interpleader action. The Estate of Kermode Jordan has filed a motion for summary judgment on its first claim for relief, seeking the distribution of $30,000 in dependent benefits under the Policy. The Estate of Pamela Jordan and defendant Charles G. Ind, III, a surviving child of Pamela Jordan, have filed a motion to reinstate John Hancock as a party to this action.1
The Estate of Pamela Jordan and Charles G. Ind, III responded to the summary judgment motion. Defendant Jacob P. Ind, the other surviving child of Pamela Jordan has joined in the response to the motion. Charles Ind, III and Jacob P. Ind are the offspring of another union and are not children of the deceased Kermode Jordan, either by birth or adoption. For convenience, the arguments proffered in the response to the motion will simply be attributed to the Estate of Pamela Jordan.
The key issues in the summary judgment motion are whether, on interpreting the language of the Policy, there is a genuine issue of material fact relating to the payment of dependent benefits and whether there is a genuine issue of material fact as to whether John Hancock has elected not to exercise its discretion with regard to the distribution of the dependent benefits.
Kermode Jordan and Pamela Jordan were both murdered on December 17, 1992. According to their amended death certificates, they died simultaneously at 1:30 a.m. Kermode H. Jordan had dependent life insurance coverage through the Policy in the amount of $30,000 (the "dependent benefits") on the life of his wife Pamela Jordan, at the time of her death.
Pursuant to the terms of the Policy, the dependent benefits were to be paid out as follows:
The amount of insurance payable hereunder as a result of the death of an insured dependent shall be paid to the employee if he survives the dependent, otherwise to the executors or administrators of the employee, except that the company may in such case, at its option, pay such insurance to any relative by blood or connection by marriage of the employee or of the dependent or to any other person appearing to the company to be equitably entitled to such payment.
The estates of both Kermode Jordan and Pamela Jordan have made claims to the $30,000 in dependent benefits.
The Estate of Kermode Jordan now moves for summary judgment, arguing that it has priority to the interplead funds based on the unambiguous language of the Policy. It contends that, under the Policy, if Pamela Jordan (the "insured dependent") did not survive Kermode Jordan (the "employee"), dependent benefits must be paid to Kermode Jordan, who is succeeded by his estate. If Pamela Jordan did survive Kermode Jordan, the benefits must be paid to the Estate of Kermode Jordan. In either instance, it argues, the dependent benefits must be paid to the Estate of Kermode Jordan. Therefore, there is no genuine issue of material fact, and the Estate of Kermode Jordan is entitled to summary judgment as a matter of law.
The Estate of Kermode Jordan anticipates the argument of the Estate of Pamela Jordan that Pamela Jordan survived Kermode Jordan and that, under the Policy terms, John Hancock may exercise the option to pay the dependent benefits to other persons it deems to be equitably entitled to such payment. The Estate of Kermode Jordan responds that, since John Hancock has deposited the dependent benefits into the court registry and has been dismissed from this case, John Hancock has chosen not to exercise its option and the dependent benefits must be paid to the Estate of Kermode Jordan.
The Estate of Pamela Jordan contends there is a disputed question of fact whether Kermode Jordan or whether Pamela Jordan "had dependent life insurance coverage" under the Policy since a copy of the policy was not appended to the Motion. The estate of Pamela Jordan had requested a copy of the Policy from John Hancock but, at the time of filing its response to the motion, had not received such copy.
Secondly, as anticipated, the Estate of Pamela Jordan contends that, based on an affidavit of the coroner who performed the autopsies, Kermode Jordan predeceased Pamela Jordan. In these circumstances, it contends, John Hancock has the discretion to permit payment to "any relative by blood or connection by marriage of the employee or of the dependent or to any other person appearing to the company to be equitably entitled to such payment." There is no evidence before me, it contends, that John Hancock has considered and declined to exercise its apparent discretion and, further, that payment of the funds into the court is not tantamount to an exercise of that discretion.
Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is proper when "there is no genuine dispute over a material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law," Russillo v. Scarborough, 935 F.2d 1167, 1170 (10th Cir.1991), but the court must "view the record in a light most favorable to the parties opposing the motion for summary judgment," Deepwater Invs., Ltd. v. Jackson Hole Ski Corp., 938 F.2d 1105, 1110 (10th Cir.1991). "`The moving party carries the burden of showing beyond a reasonable doubt that it is entitled to summary judgment.'" Hicks v. City of Watonga, Okla., 942 F.2d 737, 743 (10th Cir.1991) (quoting Ewing v. Amoco Oil Co., 823 F.2d 1432, 1437 (10th Cir.1987)). Once the moving party meets its burden, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to demonstrate a genuine issue for trial on a material matter. Bacchus Indus., Inc. v. Arvin Indus., Inc., 939 F.2d 887, 891 (10th Cir. 1991). "However, the nonmoving party may not rest on its pleadings but must set forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial as to those dispositive matters for which it carries the burden of proof." Applied Genetics Int'l., Inc. v. First Affiliated Sec., Inc., 912 F.2d 1238, 1241 (10th Cir. 1990) (quoting Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).
The Estate of Pamela Jordan, in its Response to Motion for Summary Judgment, first argues that there is a disputed issue of material fact whether Kermode Jordan "had dependent life insurance coverage" or whether Pamela Jordan "had dependent Life insurance coverage" under the Policy. It states that a certified copy of the Policy was not appended to the Motion and that it is without sufficient information as to the terms of the Policy to know whether Pamela Jordan or Kermode Jordan had dependent coverage. Further, the Estate of Pamela Jordan states that a certified copy of the Policy was requested from John Hancock on June 30, 1993 but had not been received.
The initial question, therefore, is whether there is a genuine issue of material fact as to who is "the employee" and who is the "insured dependent" under the Policy. Alternatively stated, is there a genuine issue of material fact as to whether Kermode Jordan, as opposed to Pamela Jordan, "had dependent life insurance coverage"? John Hancock did not attach a copy of the Policy to the complaint. The Motion for Summary Judgment includes only page I-6.3 of the Policy (Exhibit "B"), relating to Group Life Insurance for Dependents. Page I-6.3 contains the above-quoted paragraph relating to the payment of dependent benefits, but does not specifically state who "the employee" is. John Hancock, in paragraph 20 of the Complaint for Interpleader, alleges that Kermode Jordan had dependent life insurance coverage through the Policy in the amount of $30,000 on the life of Pamela Jordan, his wife and dependent, at the time of her murder on December 17, 1992, referred to in the Policy as "the dependent benefits". The Estate of Kermode Jordan in its moving papers, assumes without explanation, that Kermode Jordan is "the employee" and that Pamela Jordan is "the insured dependent" under the Policy.
John Hancock, in its response to the motion of the Estate of Pamela Jordan to reinstate John Hancock as a party to this action (filed on August 31, 1993), states that a copy of the Policy was provided as soon as John Hancock was able to verify the accuracy of the Policy in...
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