Sun Life Assur. Co. of Canada

• Decision Date: 21 April 2006
• Docket Number: No. C.A. 05-172S.,C.A. 05-172S.
• Citation: 431 F.Supp.2d 220
• Parties: SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA, (U.S.), v. Ida CONROY, Paul S. Davenport, Paul Gonya, Carol Kimberly Griggs a/k/a Carol Kimberly, Jeffrey Luiz, H. Locke Macdonald, A. Michael Marino, Robert R. Nadeau, Anthony J. Robbio, Jr., and Frederick Von Fredrek,
• Court: U.S. Supreme Court

431 F.Supp.2d 220

SUN LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY OF CANADA, (U.S.), v. Ida CONROY, Paul S. Davenport, Paul Gonya, Carol Kimberly Griggs a/k/a Carol Kimberly, Jeffrey Luiz, H. Locke Macdonald, A. Michael Marino, Robert R. Nadeau, Anthony J. Robbio, Jr., and Frederick Von Fredrek,

No. C.A. 05-172S.

United States District Court, D. Rhode Island.

April 21, 2006.

Joan O. Vorster, Mirick, O'Connell, Demallie & Lougee, LLP, Worcester, MA, Richard F. Kirby, Mactaz, Keefer, & Kirby, Providence, RI, for Plaintiff.

Avram N. Cohen, Law Office of Avram N. Cohen, Stephen J. Angell, Law Office of Stephen J. Angell, Providence, RI, Edward L. Gerstein, Esq., Little Compton, RI, Edward R. Dipippo, Cranston, RI, for Defendants.

ORDER

SMITH, District Judge.

The Report and Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge David L. Martin filed on March 16, 2006, in the above-captioned matter is accepted pursuant to Title 28 United States Code § 636(b)(1). Defendant, Carol Kimberly Griggs' Motion for Entry of Default Judgment against Defendants Nadeau, Gonya, Marino, Robbio, Davenport, Von Fredrek and Luiz is GRANTED.

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

MARTIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Before the Court is Defendant Carol Kimberly Griggs' Motion for Entry of Default Judgments against Defendants Nadeau, Gonya, Marino, Robbio, Davenport, Von Fredrek¹ and Luiz (Document ("Doc.") # 67) ("Motion for Entry of Default Judgment" or "Motion") pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 55(b)(2). The Motion has been referred to me for preliminary review, findings, and recommended disposition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(B). The Court has determined that no hearing is necessary. For the reasons stated below, I recommend that the Motion be granted.

I. Facts² and Travel

This is an interpleader action. See Complaint for Interpleader (Doc. # 1) ("Complaint") ¶ 1. Plaintiff Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada, U.S. ("Plaintiff" or "Sun Life"), is a stock life insurance company with a principal place of business in Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts. Id. ¶ 3. In 1984 and 1985 Sun Life issued a total of seven annuity contracts (the "Contracts") to Frederick A. Gonya ("Frederick"). Id. ¶ 4. The Contracts bear the following numbers: 08-0880-138224 ("Contract 221"), 08-0880-138233 ("Contract 233"), 08-0880-145038 ("Contract 038"), 08-0880-145056 ("Contract 056"), 08-0880-145065 ("Contract 065"), 08-0880-145074 ("Contract 074"), and 71-7100-001929 ("Contract 929"). Id. At various times prior to his death on September 6, 1999, Frederick designated one or more of the named Defendants as beneficiaries of one or more of the Contracts. Id. ¶¶ 15-16.

Sun Life filed this action on April 25, 2005, see Docket, alleging that "a dispute exists among the defendants regarding who are the beneficiaries under the Contracts and how the proceeds from the Contracts should be distributed among them," Complaint ¶ 19. The Complaint named ten individuals as Defendants: Ida Conroy ("Conroy"), Paul S. Davenport ("Davenport"), Paul Gonya ("Gonya"), Carol Kimberly Griggs, a.k.a. Carol Kimberly ("Griggs"), Jeffrey Luiz ("Luiz"),'H. Locke MacDonald ("MacDonald"), A. Michael Marino ("Marino"), Robert R. Nadeau ("Nadeau"), Anthony J. Robbio, Jr. ("Robbio"), and Frederick Von Fredrek ("Von Fredrek"). Complaint at 1.

According to the Complaint, Frederick allegedly designated Griggs as the beneficiary of six of the Contracts on August 19, 1999, see Complaint ¶¶ 22, 30, 34, 39, 43, 48, and, upon information and belief, Griggs claimed to be the beneficiary of Contract 233, id. ¶ 26. The Complaint further alleges that "Griggs contends that the proceeds from the Contracts should be distributed directly to her," id. ¶ 19, but six Defendants, Davenport, Gonya, Marino, Nadeau, Robbio, and Von Fredrek, objected to such distribution, see id. Each of the six, "[u]pon information and belief," id. ¶¶ 23, 27, 31, 35, 40, 44, 49, disputed Griggs' claim to the proceeds of one of the Contracts, see id.³

Only three Defendants, Conroy, Mac-Donald, and Griggs, responded to the Complaint by filing timely answers. See Does. # 3, # 15, # 16; see also Docket. The remaining seven Defendants, Davenport, Gonya, Luiz, Marino, Nadeau, Robbio, and Von Fredrek (the "defaulted Defendants"), who are the subjects of the instant Motion for Entry of Default Judgment, did not file timely answers or responses to the Complaint, see Docket, and they were defaulted on October 24, 2005, see Does. # 31-37.

Six of the defaulted Defendants (Davenport, Gonya, Marino, Robbio, Nadeau, and Von Fredrek) filed motions on November 16, 2005, to vacate the default and to allow them to answer the Complaint. See Docket; see also Does. # 41, # 44, # 47, # 50, # 53, # 56. Luiz had advised Sun Life in a letter dated June 28, 2005, that he did "not object to Sun Life's distribution of the assets according to their records as designated by the owner of the policies, Frederick Gonya, at the time of his passing." Memorandum of Defendant Carol Kimberly Griggs^[] in Support of Motion for Entry of Default Judgments against Defendants Nadeau, Gonya, Marino, Robbio, Davenport, Von Fredrek and Luiz ("Griggs' Mem."), Exhibit ("Ex.") A (Letter from Luiz to Kirby of 6/28/05).

Following a hearing on January 6, 2006, the Court denied the motions to vacate in a memorandum and order issued on January 12, 2006. See Memorandum and Order Granting Plaintiffs Motion to Deposit Proceeds and Denying Motions to Vacate Default (Doc. # 61) ("Memorandum and Order of 1/12/06"). In that same memorandum and order, the Court granted Sun Life's motion to deposit the proceeds of five of the Contracts with the Clerk.⁴ See id. None of the defaulted Defendants objected to, or otherwise sought review of, the Memorandum and Order of 1/12/06 which denied their motions to vacate the defaults. See Docket.

The instant Motion for Entry of Default Judgment was filed by Defendant Griggs on February 14, 2005. See Docket. By the Motion, Griggs seeks to have default judgment enter against the defaulted Defendants and in her favor concerning five annuity Contracts: 224, 233, 038, 074, and 929. See Motion at 4. The Motion also recites that Griggs, Conroy, and Mac-Donald have "settled their differences, if any, concerning Contracts 056 and 065," id. at 2, as a result of a stipulation (Doc. # 65) entered by the Court on February 1, 2006, see id.

II. Jurisdiction

As an initial matter, when judgment is sought against a party who has failed to plead or otherwise defend, a district court has an affirmative duty to assure itself that it has jurisdiction over both the subject matter and the parties. See Sys. Pipe & Supply, Inc. v. M/V Viktor Kurnatovskiy, 242 F.3d 322, 324 (5th Cir. 2001); In re Tuli, 172 F.3d 707, 712 (9th Cir.1999); Dennis Garberg & Assocs., Inc. v. Pack-Tech Int'l Corp., 115 F.3d 767, 772 (10th Cir.1997); Williams v. Life Say. & Loan, 802 F.2d 1200, 1203 (10th Cir.1986); see also Daynard v. Ness, Motley, Loadholt, Richardson & Poole, P.A., 290 F.3d 42, 50 (1st Cir.2002)("To hear a case, a court must have personal jurisdiction over the parties, `that is, the power to require the parties to obey its decision.'")(quoting United States v. Swiss Am. Bank, Ltd., 191 F.3d 30, 35 (1st Cir.1999)); Letelier v. Republic of Chile, 488 F.Supp. 665, 668 (D.D.C.1980)(holding that issue of subject mutter jurisdiction should be fully explored despite previous entry of default); cf. Hugel v. McNeil, 886 F.2d 1, 3 n. 3 (1st Cir.1989)("[W]here the court rendering the default judgment is shown to lack personal jurisdiction over the defendant, ... the judgment may be vacated and set aside by the rendering court on motion, or by another court on collateral attack.")(quoting 6 Moore's Federal Practice para. 55.09)(second alteration in original). Accordingly, this Court examines both subject matter and personal jurisdiction.

A. Subject Matter Jurisdiction

"Under 28 U.S.C. § 1335,⁵ a district court has jurisdiction of any civil action of interpleader involving money or property worth $500 or more where two or more adverse claimants, of diverse citizenship as defined in 28 U.S.C. § 1332, `are claiming or may claim to be entitled to such money or property,' if the plaintiff has deposited the money or property with the court." New York Life Ins. Co. v. Connecticut Dev. Auth., 700 F.2d 91 95 (2nd Cir.1983)(footnote omitted). "The requisite diversity exists if at least two of the adverse claimants are citizens of different states, without regard to the citizenship of other claimants or the stakeholder." New York Life Ins. Co. v. Connecticut Dev. Auth., 700 F.2d at 95 n. 5.

This action was brought pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 22⁶ and 28 U.S.C. §§ 1335, 1397,⁷ and 2361.⁸ See Complaint ¶ 1. The Complaint alleges that Davenport and Gonya are residents, respectively, of Florida and California, see Complaint ¶¶ 5-6, while the other eight Defendants (Conroy, Griggs, Luiz, MacDonald, Marino, Nadeau, Robbio, and Von Fredrek) are residents of Rhode Island, see id. ¶¶ 4, 7-13. Therefore, diversity of citizenship is present. Additionally, Sun Life has deposited the proceeds from five of the Contracts into the Registry of the Court.⁹ Thus, this Court has original jurisdiction by virtue of the federal interpleader statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1335. See State St. Bank & Trust Co. v. Denman Tire Corp., 240 F.3d 83, 89 n. 4 (1st Cir.2001)(stating that 28 U.S.C. § 1335 provides jurisdiction to federal courts over interpleader actions having "[t]wo or more adverse claimants, of diverse citizenship") (alteration in original); see also Complaint ¶ 2 (alleging that this Court has original jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1335 and that venue is appropriate in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1397 as one or more of the defendants reside in this district). Accordingly, subject matter jurisdiction exists.

B. Personal Jurisdiction

Davenport, Gonya, Luiz, Robbio, Marino, and Nadeau each signed a waiver of service of process in this matter,...