Rismed Oncology Sys., Inc. v. Baron

• Decision Date: 07 March 2014
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. CV-13-S-310-NE
• Parties: RISMED ONCOLOGY SYSTEMS, INC., Plaintiff, v. DANIEL ESGARDO RANGEL BARON; ISABEL RANGEL BARON; RISMED DIALYSIS SYSTEMS, CORP. (Alabama); RISMED DIALYSIS SYSTEMS, CORP. (Florida); and RISMED DIALYSIS SYSTEMS, C.A. VENEZUELA, Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Alabama

RISMED ONCOLOGY SYSTEMS, INC., Plaintiff,
v.
DANIEL ESGARDO RANGEL BARON; ISABEL RANGEL BARON;
RISMED DIALYSIS SYSTEMS, CORP. (Alabama);
RISMED DIALYSIS SYSTEMS, CORP. (Florida);
and RISMED DIALYSIS SYSTEMS, C.A. VENEZUELA, Defendants.

Civil Action No. CV-13-S-310-NE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA NORTHEASTERN DIVISION

DONE and ORDERED: March 7, 2014

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

This action is before the court on a motion for relief from judgment filed by plaintiff, Rismed Oncology Systems, Inc., pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 60(b)(3) and 60(b)(6).¹ Plaintiff commenced this action on February 14, 2013, asserting claims against: Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron, a citizen of Venezuela; Isabel Rangel-Baron, also a citizen of Venezuela; Rismed Dialysis Systems, C.A., a Venezuelan corporation; Rismed Dialysis Systems, Corp. (Alabama), an Alabama corporation; and, Rismed Dialysis Systems, Corp. (Florida),

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a Florida corporation. Jurisdiction existed under the federal question statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1332, because the first three Counts of the complaint alleged claims based upon the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(a), (c), and (d).² In addition, supplemental state-law claims of fraud and conspiracy to defraud, as well as mail and wire fraud under Alabama Code § 6-5-370, were asserted in Counts IV and V.³

Less than two months after commencing the action, however, and before any defendant had filed an answer or other responsive pleading, plaintiff moved to dismiss the case with prejudice, stating as the reason for doing so that "a settlement has been reached in this action."⁴ An order dismissing the action with prejudice was

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entered on April 9, 2013.⁵

I. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b) permits a party or its legal representative to move for relief from a final judgment, order, or proceeding for, among other reasons: "(3) fraud . . . , misrepresentation, or misconduct by an opposing party; . . . or (6) any other reason that justifies relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 60(b)(3), (6).

To obtain relief under Rule 60(b)(3), the moving party must prove by clear and convincing evidence that "the adverse party obtained the verdict through fraud, misrepresentations, or other misconduct," and that "the conduct prevented [the moving party] from fully presenting his case." Waddell v. Hendry County Sheriff's Office, 329 F.3d 1300, 1309 (11th Cir. 2003) (alteration supplied) (citing Frederick v. Kirby Tankships, Inc., 205 F.3d 1277, 1287 (11th Cir. 2000)).

Rule 60(b)(6), on the other hand, has been described by the Eleventh Circuit as "an extraordinary remedy," one that may be invoked "only upon a showing of exceptional circumstances." Griffin v. Swim-Tech Corp., 722 F.2d 677, 680 (11th

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Cir. 1984) (citing Ackerman v. United States, 340 U.S. 193, 202 (1950)); see also, e.g., High v. Zant, 916 F.2d 1507, 1509 (11th Cir. 1990) ("The law is well established that Rule 60(b)(6) affords relief from a final judgment only under extraordinary circumstances"). A party proceeding under that subdivision of the Rule has the burden of showing that "an 'extreme' and 'unexpected' hardship will result" if relief is not granted. Griffin, 722 F.2d at 680 (alteration supplied) (citing United States v. Swift & Co., 286 U.S. 106, 119 (1932)). Rule 60(b)(6) also is sometimes referred to as a "catchall provision," because it applies only to conduct that does not fall into any of the other categories listed in the first five clauses of the Rule. United States v. Real Property and Residence, 920 F.2d 788, 791 (11th Cir. 1991); see also, e.g., Liljeberg v. Health Services Acquisition Corp., 486 U.S. 847, 863 n.11 (1988) ("[C]lause (6) and clauses (1) through (5) are mutually exclusive.") (alteration supplied) (citing Klapprott v. United States, 335 U.S. 601, 613 (1949); 11 C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 2864 (1973)).⁶

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II. IMPORTANT PARTIES, PERSONS, AND ENTITIES

RISMED	Rismed Oncology Systems, Inc., an Alabama corporation with its principal place of business in Huntsville, Alabama.
Jose A. Rodriguez	Jose Alfredo Rodriguez incorporated RISMED and is its President.
IVSS	The "Instituto Venezolano de los Seguros Sociales," an entity of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Liliana Di Nardo Rodriguez	The estranged wife of Jose Rodriguez. She and defendant Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron are the biological parents of Daniel Rangel. She filed for divorce in June of 2013, and moved back to Venezuela, allegedly to reunite with her first husband.
Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron	The first husband of Liliana Di Nardo Rodriguez, and the biological father of Daniel Rangel. He resides in Venezuela, where he was employed from 1999 to 2006 as a salesman for RISMED. He left that employment to start another company ("Continental") with his son, Daniel Rangel.
Daniel Rangel	The son of defendant Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron and Liliana Di Nardo Rodriguez, and the step-son of Jose Rodriguez (who reared Daniel from the age of thirteen). Daniel also has been known by such names as Daniel Alberto Rangel, Daniel R. Di Nardo,7 and Daniel Alberto Rangel-

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DiNardo.8
Isabel Rangel-Baron	The sister of Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron. She resides in Venezuela and allegedly was involved in the creation of "Rismed Dialysis Systems, C.A. (Venezuela)."
Daniel Garlick	A fundamentalist minister and "Christian Mediator" who was instrumental in the negotiation of the agreements discussed in Parts III(A) through (C) of this opinion, infra.
Continental	The company allegedly owned by Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron and his son, Daniel Rangel.
Rismed Dialysis Systems, Corp. (Alabama)	An Alabama entity registered by Daniel Rangel with the Alabama Secretary of State on April 3, 2006.9
Rismed Dialysis Systems, C.A. (Venezuela)	An entity registered in Venezuela by defendants Daniel Esgardo Rangel-Baron (President) and his sister, Isabel Rangel-Baron (Vice President), on March 19, 2007.
Rismed Dialysis Systems, Corp. (Florida)	An entity incorporated and registered in Florida on July 17, 2008, by Daniel Rangel (using the name "Daniel R. Di Nardo"), and listing himself as President and Director.
Campobasso, Inc.	An Alabama corporation created by Jose Rodriguez and Liliana Di Nardo Rodriguez that owned 27 acres of farmland at 871 Dug Hill Road in Brownsboro, Alabama.
Campolieto, LLC	An Alabama limited liability company created by Jose Rodriguez, Liliana Di Nardo Rodriguez, and Daniel Rangel that owned real estate located at 1220 Somerville Road, in Decatur, Alabama.
D.R. Properties II, LLC	A limited liability company created by Daniel Rangel. The properties owned by Campobasso, Inc., and Campolieto, LLC, were sold to this entity by Liliana Di Nardo Rodriguez, allegedly for amounts far below market value.

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State Court Complaint An action filed on August 2, 2013 in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Ala. (Civil Action No. CV-13-901700) by RISMED, Campobasso, Inc., Campolieto, LLC, and Jose Rodriguez (who sued both individually, and, in his representative capacities as President of RISMED, a shareholder of Campobasso, Inc., and a member of Campolieto, LLC) against "Daniel A. Rangel a/k/a Daniel Di Nardo, Liliana Rodriguez a/k/a Liliana Di Nardo, Daniel Garlick, and D.R. Properties II, LLC."¹⁰

III. FACTUAL REPRESENTATIONS BY THE MOVANT

Rismed Oncology Systems, Inc. ("RISMED"), is an Alabama corporation that "supplies medical equipment to Latin America, principally Venuezuela."¹¹ After...