Peterson v. United States

41 F.R.D. 131, 10 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 707, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10686
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedOctober 19, 1966
DocketCiv. No. 5-66-29
StatusPublished
Cited by43 cases

This text of 41 F.R.D. 131 (Peterson v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peterson v. United States, 41 F.R.D. 131, 10 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 707, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10686 (mnd 1966).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ORDER

DONOVAN, District Judge.

Separate and individual motions by Gustavus Adolphus College and Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, a religious corporation under the laws of the State of Minnesota, for leave to intervene as plaintiffs herein came on for hearing before the undersigned judge of said court at 1 o’clock in the afternoon of August 24, 1966, in the United States Courthouse, Duluth, Minnesota.

The parties submitted briefs, subsequent to oral argument, at the request of the Court.

Plaintiffs Lillie C. L. Peterson and First American National Bank of Duluth are executrix and executor of the will of Andrew Y. Peterson, deceased. This case arose when plaintiffs claimed a deduction of $92,133.06 for certain charitable bequests in computing federal estate tax. The Internal Revenue Service did not allow the deduction, and plaintiffs paid the alleged deficiency, $27,871.82, including interest, under protest. Plaintiffs are now suing to recover that payment, plus interest, claiming that it was erroneously assessed,1 since the deduction should have been allowed.

The will of Andrew Y. Peterson establishes two testamentary trusts, with plaintiffs as trustees. Trust A is the marital trust. The residue of the estate, which is the major portion, is included in Trust B.

The will provides that the net income from Trust B shall be paid to Mrs. Peterson for life. In addition, the trustees are to pay up to $10,000.00 to Mrs. Peterson from the principal of Trust B if the principal of Trust A should become exhausted, plus whatever greater amount is advisable to meet her needs. Upon the death of Mrs. Peterson, the principal of Trust B is to be distributed as follows: A sister receives $5,000.00; a niece and six nephews receive $40,000.00; the niece and nephews then receive one-half of the balance of the principal, up to a limit of $50,000.00; the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd, Duluth, Minnesota, and the Boy Scouts of America, North Star Council, Duluth, Minnesota, each receive $5,000.00 from the other one-half; the residue of the principal is given to Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, Minnesota.

Gustavus Adolphus College and the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd now move to intervene as parties plaintiff to protect their interest as beneficiaries of the testamentary trust. They claim primarily that they are entitled to intervene as a matter of right, pursuant to Rule 24(a) (2),2 but they also seek permissive intervention pursuant to Rule 24(b) (2).3

Rule 24(a) (2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, as amended recently, [133]*133and now in effect since July 1, 1966, governs this case. That rule states:

“(a) Intervention of Right. Upon timely application anyone shall be permitted to intervene in an action: * * (2) When the applicant claims an interest relating to the property or transaction which is the subject of the action and he is so situated that the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede his ability to protect that interest, unless the applicant’s interest is adequately represented by existing parties.”

The parties agree that “the disposition of the action may as a practical matter impair or impede [applicants’] ability to protect” their interests, and that the first prerequisite to intervention under this rule is therefore satisfied. The College will probably receive less money, perhaps $27,871.82 less, if the executors cannot recover the alleged overpayment, and the Church will possibly receive less than $5,000.00.

Thus, the controlling issue is whether the representation of applicants’ interests by the existing plaintiffs is adequate.

The parties disagree as to whether the amendment to Rule 24(a) removed the burden on an intervenor to show inadequacy of representation, and shifted the burden onto the party resisting intervention to demonstrate adequacy of representation.4 There are plausible arguments for each position.5 However, the case need not turn on this difficult issue, since regardless of where the burden lies and despite the lack of affidavits herein, it is the conclusion of this Court that the representation of applicants’ interests by the existing plaintiffs is adequate under the law. There is no indication in amended Rule 24(a) or in the Advisory Committee’s Note appended thereto, that the substantive meaning of the inadequacy of representation requirement has been changed.6 Thus, cases defining the requirement are still applicable.

The controlling rule is that representation is adequate if there is no collusion between the representative and an opposing party, if the representative does not have or represent an interest adverse to the applicant, and if the representative does not fail in the fulfillment of his duty.7

[134]*134There is no allegation or evidence of any collusion, nor of any nonfeasance or neglect of duty. The record thus far reflects diligence by plaintiffs and their competent counsel.

The applicants for intervention claim that the interests of plaintiffs are adverse to their own. They have alleged that Mrs. Peterson is less interested in this lawsuit because she will be affected less by the outcome; that Mrs. Peterson’s interest is conflicting, since she may receive some of the principal of Trust B; that plaintiffs’ legal interests are different; that the interests of the individual beneficiaries are different; and that the Bank, as a fiduciary, must represent dual interests, both relatives and residuary legatees. None of these allegations indicates the existence of an adverse interest in the conduct of this lawsuit.

The interests of the plaintiffs, the intervenors, and all the other legatees are the same in this lawsuit. Each has an interest in recovering the tax payment and adding it to the principal of Trust B. Each will benefit thereby, even though the degree of benefit may vary. Mrs. Peterson will receive the income earned on this sum, if recovered, and this sum will provide further security if Trust A should ever be exhausted. The other beneficiaries of Trust B obviously have the same interest in preserving the principal thereof. The Bank has its fiduciary duty to fulfill, and probably has an economic interest in the size of the estate.

It is well established that when the interests of applicant and his representative in the outcome of the lawsuit are identical, their interests are not adverse so as to make representation inadequate, even though they may be in conflict in other respects.8 Interests may be different without being adverse.

It has been held under this general rule that remaindermen under a trust had no absolute right to intervene on the ground that representation by trustees might be inadequate,9 and that heirs of an estate had no absolute right to intervene on the ground that representation by co-executors might be inadequate.10 Such relationships would not necessarily preclude intervention in a proper ease, where the interests in a lawsuit were actually adverse,11 but the case at bar is not such a case.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 F.R.D. 131, 10 Fed. R. Serv. 2d 707, 1966 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10686, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peterson-v-united-states-mnd-1966.