Nw. Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Moore
Citation | 511 F.Supp.3d 723 |
Decision Date | 05 January 2021 |
Docket Number | Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-1312 |
Parties | The NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Plaintiff, v. Martin MOORE, and David Yohannan, as trustee for the benefit of Emma Yohannan and Ethan Yohannan, Defendants. David Yohannan, individually and as trustee for the benefit of Emma Yohannan and Ethan Yohannan, Third-Party Plaintiffs, v. Martin Moore, as executor of the Estate of Kristin Yohannan Moore and Martin Moore, as trustee of The Moore Family Joint Trust u/a January 19, 2007, Third-Party Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
Herbert Stanley Rosenblum, Herbert S. Rosenblum PC, Alexandria, VA, for Third-Party Defendant Martin Moore.
David Philip Korteling, Axelson, Williamowsky, Bender & Fishman, PC, Rockville, MD, for Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff David R. Yohannan.
Herbert Stanley Rosenblum, Herbert S. Rosenblum PC, Alexandria, VA, for Defendant Martin Moore.
Plaintiff Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company ("Northwestern") filed this Rule 22, Fed. R. Civ. P. interpleader action following the death of Kristin Yohannan Moore ("Decedent"), seeking a determination of the proper beneficiary or recipient of the funds payable under Decedent's $500,000 life insurance policy (the "Policy"). The two interpleaded claimants for the Policy funds are Decedent's surviving spouse, Martin Moore ("Moore") and Decedent's surviving former spouse, David Yohannan ("Yohannan"). At issue now on Yohannan's motion for summary judgment is a determination of the proper disposition of the Policy funds.1 Both Yohannan and Moore agree that the Policy funds must ultimately be disbursed for the benefit of Emma Yohannan ("Emma") and Ethan Yohannan ("Ethan"), children of Decedent's marriage to Yohannan and who are now 26 and 23 years old, respectively. However, Yohannan and Moore disagree on whether the Policy funds must be held in a trust that withholds distribution of the Policy funds until Emma and Ethan each turn 35 years old. The matter has been fully briefed and argued, including a telephonic hearing that occurred on July 22, 2020. Accordingly, the matter is now ripe for disposition.2
The following undisputed facts are pertinent to the parties' dispute over the proper disposition of the Policy funds.
In support of summary judgment on the Rule 22 interpleader action, Yohannan, Decedent's first husband and former spouse, argues that the Policy funds must go to "Yohannan as Trustee for the benefit of the children," arguing that this beneficiary designation in the PSA takes priority over any contrary beneficiary designation. Moore, Decedent's second husband, opposes this outcome but does not address the applicable Virginia law that Yohannan cites to support Yohannan's claim. Rather, Moore argues that the Policy funds should go directly to Emma and Ethan, children of Decedent's marriage to Yohannan, as neither Emma nor Ethan requires a trustee and since the Yohannan Trusts, created after Yohannan filed a claim for the Policy funds, do not satisfy the PSA's requirements on appropriate trust terms. Alternatively, Moore argues that if the Policy funds must be distributed to a trust, then the funds should be distributed to the Moore Family Trust.
Analysis of Yohannan's Motion for Summary Judgment on the Rule 22 interpleader action properly begins with recognition and application of the settled Virginia rule that a property settlement agreed to by the...
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