Wis. Province Jesus v. Cassem

• Decision Date: 18 March 2019
• Docket Number: No. 3:17-CV-01477 (VLB),3:17-CV-01477 (VLB)
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Connecticut
• Parties: WISCONSIN PROVINCE OF the SOCIETY OF JESUS, Plaintiff(s), v. Audrey F. CASSEM, Thomas F. Owens, II, et al., Defendants.

373 F.Supp.3d 378

WISCONSIN PROVINCE OF the SOCIETY OF JESUS, Plaintiff(s),

v.Audrey F. CASSEM, Thomas F. Owens, II, et al., Defendants.

No. 3:17-CV-01477 (VLB)

United States District Court, D. Connecticut.

Signed March 18, 2019

Edward J. Heath, Christopher John Hug, Robinson & Cole, Hartford, CT, Gregory J. Bennici, Robinson & Cole LLP, Stamford, Stamford, CT, for Plaintiff(s).

Kevin J. Greene, Halloran & Sage LLP-Hartford, Hartford, CT, Peter S. Gersten, Gersten Law Offices, LLC, Charles Donald Neville, Kroll McNamara Evans & Delahanty, West Hartford, CT, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS [DKT. 58]

Hon. Vanessa L. Bryant, United States District Judge

I. Introduction

Plaintiff, the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus ("Province" or "Plaintiff"), brings this claim against Defendants, Audrey F. Cassem and Thomas F. Owens ("Defendants"), concerning two retirement accounts held by the late Rev. Edwin H. "Ned" Cassem ("Fr. Cassem"). Before the Court is Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Count One of the Amended Complaint, which seeks "declaratory judgment that the original beneficiary designations remain enforceable pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201 and 2202" on the grounds that "[a]s a result of his vows, Fr. Cassem did not own the funds in the TIAA-CREF Accounts and thus, did not have the authority to designate a beneficiary in place of the province." [Dkt. 44 (Amended Complaint) at 8-9]. Defendants argue that Plaintiff's claim is preempted by the Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and that ERISA's anti-alienation provision prohibits Plaintiff from asserting a contractual right to Fr. Cassem's retirement accounts. [Dkt. 58 (Motion to Dismiss) ]. For the following reasons, Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is GRANTED as to Count One.¹

II. Background

The following facts are taken from the Amended Complaint [Dkt. 44]. The facts alleged in the Amended Complaint are taken as true and construed in the light most favorable to Plaintiff for the purpose of a motion to dismiss. See Conley v. Gibson , 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957).

The Province is a nonstock corporation organized in Wisconsin with its principal place of business in Chicago. [Id. at ¶ 2]. The Province is one of several geographical subgroups of the Society of Jesus (the "Society"), commonly known as the "Jesuits." [Id. ] Defendant Audrey V. Cassem ("A. Cassem") is the widow of Fr. Cassem's deceased brother, John M. Cassem. [Id. at ¶ 3]. Defendant Thomas M. Owens, II ("Owens") is the son of A. Cassem from a marriage that predated her marriage to John M. Cassem. [Id. at ¶ 4].

Fr. Cassem was a lifelong Jesuit and member of the Province. [Dkt. 44, ¶ 11]. He died on July 4, 2015. [Id. at ¶ 1]. He entered the society in 1953, at the age of eighteen. [Id. at ¶ 12]. He was ordained on June 4, 1970, and pronounced his "final vows of perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience on December 26, 1985." [Id. at ¶ 14]. While a member of the Society, Fr. Cassem obtained an undergraduate degree in psychology and a medical degree in psychiatry. [Id. at ¶ 13].

Following his graduation from Harvard Medical School, Fr. Cassem began what would become a long and distinguished career as a psychiatrist in Boston, Massachusetts at Massachusetts General Hospital ("MGH") and Harvard Medical School ("HMS"). [Dkt. 44, ¶ 16]. He founded the Optimum Care Committee at MGH in 1973 and chaired it until 2009. [Id. at ¶ 17]. He served as Chief of Psychiatry at MGH from 1989 to 2000. [Id. ] Fr. Cassem conducted research on the relationship between depression and heart disease and worked in palliative and end-of-life care. [Id. at ¶ 18].

Throughout Fr. Cassem's career, he "tendered his income, as he earned it, to the Province, and the Province, in turn, provided for his lifelong wants and needs. [Dkt. 44, at ¶ 15]. This was in fulfillment of his vows, which included "a renunciation of his right to own property." [Id. ] Plaintiff alleges that the vow of poverty:

Enables each Jesuit to live simply and promotes a feeling of empathy for the poor. Jesuit priests share possessions communally. Accordingly, a Jesuit turns over all after-acquired property to his province after taking his vows, and the province, in turn, provides for his wants and needs ... Each member of the community relinquished title to personal property and monies, turned over money and property for their common benefit, and, in return, received a living sustenance in the form of food, shelter, health insurance premiums, car payments and car insurance.

[Id. at ¶ 14 n. 3].

In connection with his positions at MGH and HMS, Fr. Cassem accumulated two retirement accounts with TIAA-CREF (the "Accounts"). [Dkt. 44, at ¶ 20]. As of September 30, 2017, the value of the funds in the Accounts was $ 1,258,530.07 in "TIAA-A741815-3" and $ 253,656.04 in CREF-P741815-0. [Id. at ¶ 23]. In 1976, Fr. Cassem executed beneficiary designation forms with TIAA-CREF naming the Province as the beneficiary for the TIAA-CREF accounts. [Id. at ¶ 21].

Beginning in roughly 2010, Fr. Cassem "began to display symptoms of dementia, which symptoms became significantly worse over time." [Dkt. 44, at ¶ 24]. In or around December 2010, Fr. Cassem moved into A. Cassem's home in West Hartford. [Id. at ¶ 25]. In or around December 2010, Fr. Cassem "was taken to a local attorney, previously unknown to him, and executed a Durable Power of Attorney in favor of Owens." [Id. at ¶ 26].

On or about January 11, 2011, "TIAA-CREF received a form purportedly executed by Fr. Cassem" that changed the beneficiary of the Accounts from the Province to A. Cassem, as primary beneficiary, and Owens, as contingent beneficiary. [Dkt. 44, at ¶ 22]. At this time, Fr. Cassem was seventy-five years old, residing alone with A. Cassem, and "living hundreds of miles away from any blood relatives and hours away from his friends and colleagues at the Society." [Id. at ¶ 27]. Fr. Cassem continued to live with A. Cassem until his death in 2015. [Id. at ¶ 28].

On September 1, 2017, the Province brought this action against Audrey Cassem, Thomas Owens II, TIAA-CREF, and Neil Kraner in his capacity as Temporary Administrator of the Estate of Edwin H. Cassem. [Dkt. 1]. Defendant TIAA-CREF filed a Counterclaim for interpleader on November 13, 2017, asking the Court to order that Plaintiff and Defendants A. Cassem, Thomas Owens, and Neil Kraner interplead their respective claims amongst themselves. [Dkt. 22 (Answer to Complaint and Counterclaim for Interpleader), at 8]. Plaintiff filed the Amended Complaint on June 7, 2018. [Dkt. 44]. TIAA-CREF filed a renewed counterclaim for interpleader on July 4, 2018. [Dkt. 51]. Defendants A. Cassem and Thomas Owens filed this Motion to Dismiss on August 20, 2018. [Dkt. 58].

III. Legal Standard

To survive a motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must plead "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the Court should follow a "two-pronged approach" to evaluate the sufficiency of the complaint. Hayden v. Paterson , 594 F.3d 150, 161 (2d Cir. 2010). "A court ‘can choose to begin by identifying pleadings that, because they are no more than conclusions, are not entitled to the assumption of truth.’ " Id. (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ). "At the second step, a court should determine whether the ‘well-pleaded factual allegations,’ assumed to be true, ‘plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.’ " Id. (quoting Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937 ). "The plausibility standard is not akin to a probability requirement, but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (internal quotations omitted).

Rule 8(a) provides that a pleading must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). "Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Twombly , 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. A claim is "facially plausible" when "the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id.

IV. Discussion

Plaintiff alleges that the change in beneficiary designation was improper because Fr. Cassem's vows prevented him from legally acquiring personal property and, therefore, he never owned the Accounts. Plaintiff alleges that "Fr. Cassem's final vows constitute an enforceable contract among and between the Province and Fr. Cassem, through which Fr. Cassem fully and finally renounced and assigned any and all property then owned or later acquired to the Province." [Dkt. 44, at ¶ 33]. The Province argues that because Fr. Cassem was not entitled to retain or direct property for the benefit of any party other than the Province, the original designation of the Province as the beneficiary of the Accounts remains valid and enforceable. [Id. at ¶ 38].

Defendant argues that Fr. Cassem's contractual obligation to tender property to the Province is pre-empted and legally barred by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). [Dkt. 58-1 (Memo. of Support of Defendant's Motion to Dismiss), at 2-3]. Specifically, Defendant invokes § 514(a) of ERISA, which states that the Act pre-empts "any and all State laws insofar as they may now or hereafter relate to any employee benefit plan," with exceptions. See [Dkt. 58-1, at 8] (quoting 29 U.S.C. § 1144(a) ). Furthermore, Defendant...