Norton v. McOsker, 03-2281.

• Decision Date: 19 May 2005
• Docket Number: No. 03-2281.,03-2281.
• Citation: 407 F.3d 501
• Parties: Gail M. NORTON, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. David J. McOSKER, Executor of the Estate of Russell J. Hoyt, Defendant, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 501

407 F.3d 501

Gail M. NORTON, Plaintiff, Appellant, v. David J. McOSKER, Executor of the Estate of Russell J. Hoyt, Defendant, Appellee.

No. 03-2281.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Heard October 8, 2004.

Decided May 19, 2005.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

J. Ronald Fishbein, with whom Edward John Mulligan, were on brief, for appellant.

Gerald C. DeMaria, with whom Higgins, Cavanagh & Cooney, LLP, was on brief, for appellee.

Before BOUDIN, Chief Judge, TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge, and SARIS,^* District Judge.

TORRUELLA, Circuit Judge.

Plaintiff-appellant, Gail M. Norton, engaged in an adulterous relationship with decedent, Russell L. Hoyt, for twenty-three years.¹ During the course of the relationship, Hoyt allegedly maintained that he would divorce his wife, marry Norton, and support Norton for the rest of her life. Following the end of the relationship, when it became apparent to Norton that Hoyt would not continue to support her and that the relationship could not be reconciled, Norton sued Hoyt, claiming (1) promissory estoppel; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (3) the tort of outrage; (4) fraud; and (5) breach of promise to marry. The third, fourth and fifth claims were dismissed and the district court granted Hoyt's motion for summary judgment on the remaining claims.

Norton now seeks our review of the district court's assertion of jurisdiction over the case and the grant of summary judgment on the promissory estoppel and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims. We affirm the judgment below, essentially for the reasons articulated in the district court's opinion.

I.

Norton, a Rhode Island resident, met Hoyt, a Connecticut resident, in July 1974. When they met, Hoyt led Norton to believe that he was divorced. However, shortly after their adulterous relationship began, Norton discovered that Hoyt was actually married. At that time, Hoyt told Norton he was getting a divorce. Later, on or about January 5, 1975, Hoyt told Norton that he had moved out of the marital residence in order to effectuate the divorce process. Because of these statements, and similar alleged representations over the years, Norton remained in a relationship with Hoyt for twenty-three years. Hoyt remained married throughout their twenty-three year relationship.

At the outset of the relationship, Norton was employed as an elementary school teacher in the Bristol, Rhode Island public school system, a position she had held for some years. Norton resigned her teaching position in 1980, allegedly in response to Hoyt's urging that she leave her position so that she could be free to spend more time with him and travel around the world with him, and in reliance upon Hoyt's promises to provide for her and eventually marry her.²

Norton enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle as a result of her relationship with Hoyt. She traveled around the world with him, and he provided her with sundry material benefits and comforts. He paid the rent on homes they shared in Vermont and Rhode Island, purchased and maintained her automobiles, allowed her the use of his luxury yachts and presented her with lavish gifts. Hoyt ensured Norton's financial security throughout the relationship, and she became accustomed to this manner of living over the years.

Norton states that she trusted Hoyt and believed that he would get a divorce. Occasionally, she and Hoyt discussed plans for their wedding. She asserts that she would not have remained in the relationship with Hoyt if it were not for his frequent promises to divorce his wife, marry Norton, and support her for the rest of her life.

Norton also avers that, in reliance upon his inducements and promises, she became pregnant by Hoyt. However, no child was born of the relationship because Norton suffered a spontaneous miscarriage.

In March 1998, Hoyt formally ended the relationship with Norton. Norton was distraught by this turn of events and sought counseling and medical attention to deal with the depression and anxiety she was experiencing. She allegedly suffered from headaches and stomachaches, as well as vomiting and weight loss. Norton reported that she was not able to resume work and that she possibly would not ever be able to commit to another relationship. She also reported having thoughts of suicide.

A registered nurse and licensed social worker who treated Norton recorded that the "presenting problem [was] her twenty-three year relationship in turmoil." The nurse also noted that Norton was "very shocked, ... and [experiencing] loss of concentration."

A psychiatrist, Dr. Henry Altman, also worked with Norton, and Hoyt joined Norton in several sessions with Dr. Altman. In one session, Hoyt allegedly told Norton and the doctor that he would continue to support Norton financially and suggested that she would probably be able to live on about $70,000 to $80,000 per year.

Hoyt supported Norton financially for two years following the break-up, providing her with more than $80,000 in total. Norton asserts that when Hoyt broke off the relationship he promised he would place $100,000 in her bank account and establish a trust to support her for life. Norton also alleges that Hoyt told her he had given a letter to his attorney, David McOsker — who is now the executor of Hoyt's estate — that would ensure Norton would be provided for in the event anything happened to Hoyt. However, when she contacted McOsker to request a copy of the letter, Norton discovered that no such letter existed.

On March 3, 2001, Norton sued Hoyt in Rhode Island Superior Court, claiming (1) promissory estoppel; (2) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (3) the tort of outrage; (4) fraud; and (5) breach of promise to marry. Defendant, Hoyt, invoked the federal courts' diversity jurisdiction to remove the case to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1332(a), 1441.

II.

Before proceeding to the merits of this case, we will address Norton's argument that the district court should have abstained from hearing this case and remanded it to the state court pursuant to the domestic relations exception to federal diversity jurisdiction that has been recognized by the Supreme Court. See Ankenbrandt v. Richards, 504 U.S. 689, 703, 112 S.Ct. 2206, 119 L.Ed.2d 468 (1992). We find that the district court did not err in exercising jurisdiction over these claims.

The domestic relations exception "divests the federal courts of power to issue divorce, alimony, and child custody decrees." Ankenbrandt, 504 U.S. at 703, 112 S.Ct. 2206. As we have stated in the past:

[t]he aim of the exception is to keep federal courts from meddling in a realm that is peculiarly delicate, that is governed by state law and institutions (e.g., family courts), and in which inter-court conflicts in policy or decrees should be kept to an absolute minimum.

Despite the breadth of the phrase "domestic relations exception" and the potential reach of the exception's aim, Ankenbrandt made clear that the exception is narrowly limited. In general, lawsuits affecting domestic relations, however substantially, are not within the exception unless the claim at issue is one to obtain, alter or end a divorce, alimony or child custody decree.

Dunn v. Cometa, 238 F.3d 38, 41 (1st Cir.2001).

Notwithstanding the fact that this case has grown out of the dissolution of an intimate relationship, Norton's claims do not sound in family law, let alone the specific areas of divorce, alimony, and child custody. Instead, Norton brought tort and contract claims.

Plaintiff cites the fact that the Rhode Island Superior Court has concurrent jurisdiction over any issue the Family Court may hear, e.g. Rubano v. DiCenzo, 759 A.2d 959, 972 (R.I.2000), and incorrectly correlates this with the notion that she could therefore have brought the suit originally in Family Court. However, the fact that the Superior Court's jurisdiction includes any claim which might be brought before the Family Court does not mean that the Family Court has jurisdiction coextensive with the Superior Court. As the district court noted, "[t]he Rhode Island Family Court would have no jurisdiction in this case." Norton v. Hoyt, 278 F.Supp.2d 214, 228 (D.R.I.2003) (citing R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-10-3 (1956)). Even if the Rhode Island Family Court did have jurisdiction, the domestic relations exception, as interpreted in Dunn, would not apply, because Norton did not bring any claim related to a divorce, alimony, or a child custody decree.

Thus, Norton's claims are not encompassed by the domestic relations exception to federal jurisdiction and the district court properly asserted jurisdiction over the case.

III.

We review the district court's grant of summary judgment de novo, construing the evidence in the light most favorable to the appellant. Fenton v. John Hancock Mut. Life Ins. Co., 400 F.3d 83, 87 (1st Cir.2005). We will uphold the grant of summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of material fact and appellees are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). "An issue is `genuine' for purposes of summary judgment if `the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party,' and a `material fact' is one which `might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing law.'" Poulis-Minott v. Smith, 388 F.3d 354, 363 (1st Cir.2004) (quoting Hayes v. Douglas Dynamics, Inc., 8 F.3d 88, 90 (1st Cir.1993)).

Because our jurisdiction over this case is diversity-based, Rhode Island state law governs. See Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64, 58 S.Ct. 817, 82 L.Ed. 1188 (1938); Univ. Emergency Med. Found. v. Rapier Invs., Ltd., 197 F.3d 18, 19 n. 1 (1st Cir.1999). As a federal court sitting in diversity, our task is to "interpret and apply as best we can the state rules of decision." Catex Vitol Gas, Inc. v. Wolfe, 178 F.3d 572, 576 (1st Cir.1999). "Relying on pronouncements of the state...