Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Insurance v. Darel Group U.S.A. Inc.

253 F. Supp. 2d 578, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4862, 2003 WL 1628830
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 18, 2003
Docket02CIV.2736 CMGAY
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 253 F. Supp. 2d 578 (Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Insurance v. Darel Group U.S.A. Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Insurance v. Darel Group U.S.A. Inc., 253 F. Supp. 2d 578, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4862, 2003 WL 1628830 (S.D.N.Y. 2003).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT AND DENYING DEFENDANTS’ CROSS-MOTION TO DISMISS

MCMAHON, District Judge.

Plaintiff Lumbermens Mutual Casualty Company (“Lumbermens”) brings this action to recover under a bond it executed on behalf of defendants Darel Group U.S.A., Inc. (“Darel Group”) and Freddy Alvera-do, 1 and an indemnity agreement between plaintiff and defendants that accompanied the bond. Plaintiff moves for summary judgment under Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Defendants cross-move to dismiss the case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. 2

For the following reasons, plaintiffs motion is granted and defendants’ motion is denied.

FACTS

Lumbermens is an Illinois Corporation licensed to do business as a surety in the state of New York. [Plaintiff 56.1 Statement ¶ 1], Defendant Alverado is the president of defendant Darel Group, a Florida corporation that acts as a vessel agent for ships entering Florida in connection with Caribbean commerce. [Plaintiff 56.1 Statement ¶ 2; Defendant’s Opposition ¶ 8].

*580 Darel Group was the principal on a bond in the amount of $100,000 that Lumber-mens executed in July of 1999. [Plaintiff 56.1 Statement ¶ 4]. The bond incorporates by reference the conditions set forth in 19 C.F.R. § 113.64, the provision of the Code of Federal Regulations that addresses “international carrier bonds.” [Amended Cmplt., Ex. A]. Section 113.64 provides: “If any vessel, vehicle, or aircraft, or any master, owner, or person in charge of a vessel, vehicle or aircraft incurs penalty, duty, tax or other charge provided by law or regulation the obligors (principal and surety, jointly and severally) agree to pay the sum upon demand by Customs.” 19 C.F.R. § 113.64.

In addition, Darel Group and Alverado 3 executed an indemnity agreement with Lumbermens. Under the indemnity agreement, defendants agreed:

To indemnify and save harmless [Lum-bermens] from and against any and all liability, claim, demand, loss, damage, expense, cost, attorney’s fees and expenses, included without limitation, fees and disbursements of counsel incurred by [Lumbermens] and any third party, which [Lumbermens] shall at any time incur by reason of its execution of any bond or its payment of or its liability to pay any claim, irrespective of whether the claim is made against [Lumbermens] as a joint or several obligee and whether [Darel Group] is then liable to make such payment, and to place [Lumber-mens] in funds to meet all its liability under any bond, promptly upon request and before [Lumbermens] may be required to make any payment thereunder; and copy of the claim, demand, voucher or other evidence of the payment by [Lumbermens] of any liability, claim, demand, loss, damage, expense, cost and attorney’s fees, shall be prima facie evidence of the fact and amount of [Darel Group’s] liability to [Lumber-mens] under this agreement. Any demand upon [Lumbermens] by [the United States] shall be sufficient to conclude that liability exists and [Darel Group] shall then place [Lumbermens] with sufficient funds in a form and amount deemed acceptable in [Lumbermens’s] sole discretion, as collateral security to cover the liability.

[Amended Cmplt., Ex. B]. The indemnity agreement, dated July 9, 1999, predates the bond, which was executed on July 19 and became effective July 30, 1999. [Amended Cmplt., Ex. A].

On July 10, 2001, Lumbermens received formal demands from U.S. Customs (“Customs”) for payment of $335,200 against the bond it executed on behalf of Darel Group. [Barther Aff. ¶ 9, Ex. 2], Customs based this demand on civil penalties it assessed against Darel Group, pursuant to 19 U.S.C. §§ 1584(A)(l)-(2), for Darel Group’s failure to manifest cocaine that the authorities discovered on a vessel for which Darel Group acted as the shipping agent. [Barther Aff. 10, Ex. 3].

Darel Group filed petitions with Customs contesting the penalties, and customs found defendant’s petitions to be without merit. [Barther Aff. ¶ 11, Ex. 4], Consequently, on March 19, 2002, Customs issued a formal demand to Lumbermens and Darel Group for payment of the statutory penal limit ($200,000) in lieu of litigation. [Barther Aff. ¶ 11, Ex. 3]. During the course of these events, Lumbermens requested that Darel Group pay the formal demands. [Plaintiff 56.1 Statement ¶ 8].

*581 Darel Group never paid Customs nor did it pay Lumbermens collateral for any payments plaintiff might make. [Plaintiff 56.1 Statement ¶ 8; Barther Aff. ¶ 13]. Lum-bermens then received a letter from Customs, on June 3, 2002, demanding full payment of the $200,000 by June 10, 2002. [Barther Aff. ¶ 12, Ex. 4], On June 10, 2002, Lumbermens paid the sum of $200,000 to the United States on behalf of Darel Group. [Barther Aff. ¶ 14; Amended Cmplt., Ex. D]. Plaintiff now seeks to recover that sum from defendants pursuant to the indemnity agreement.

DISCUSSION

I. Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is Denied

I first address defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, because success on that motion would obviate plaintiffs motion for summary judgment. Defendants argue that subject matter jurisdiction does not exist because this suit is not an “action on a bond executed under any law of the United States” pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1352. Were subject matter jurisdiction to rest solely on 28 U.S.C. § 1352, defendants’ argument might have merit under the Second Circuit’s decision in Rader v. Manufacturers Cas. Ins. Co. of Philadelphia, 242 F.2d 419 (2d Cir.1957). Rader is irrelevant, however, because diversity jurisdiction exists under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Lum-bermens (an Illinois corporation with its principal place of business in New York) sues Darel Group (a Florida corporation with its principal place of business in Florida) and Adverado (a Florida resident). 4

II. Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment is Granted

A. Summary Judgment Standard

A party is entitled to summary judgment when there is no “genuine issue of material fact” and the undisputed facts warrant judgment for the moving party as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56

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Bluebook (online)
253 F. Supp. 2d 578, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4862, 2003 WL 1628830, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lumbermens-mutual-casualty-insurance-v-darel-group-usa-inc-nysd-2003.