Rick Scott v. Amer Natl Trust & Invst Co.

556 F. App'x 288
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 24, 2014
Docket13-10096
StatusUnpublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 556 F. App'x 288 (Rick Scott v. Amer Natl Trust & Invst Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rick Scott v. Amer Natl Trust & Invst Co., 556 F. App'x 288 (5th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

*290 PER CURIAM: *

Rick Scott filed suit against Salvatore Carpanzano, Marisa Belcastro, and Carmela Carpanzano (collectively, the “Defendants”) and others, alleging various claims relating to his loss of approximately $2,000,000 placed in an escrow account. The district court entered default judgments against the Defendants. The Defendants appeal the district court’s denial of their subsequent motions to set aside the default judgments. We AFFIRM the district court’s denial of relief to Salvatore Carpanzano and Marisa Belcastro, and VACATE the district court’s denial of relief to Carmela Carpanzano with respect to the monetary default judgment against her and REMAND for further proceedings.

I. Background

In December 2011, Rick Scott (“Scott”) sued Salvatore Carpanzano (“Mr. Carpan-zano”) and others in state court alleging various claims related to the wrongful transfer of funds that Scott placed in an escrow account. Mr. Carpanzano removed the case to federal court asserting diversity and federal-question jurisdiction. Mr. Carpanzano also filed a motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, which was denied. At the time of these initial filings, Mr. Carpanzano was represented by Stephen Walraven. But on February 6, 2012, Walraven filed a motion to withdraw as counsel, informing the court that Mr. Car-panzano “failed to cooperate with the discovery process” and “refused to appear as requested and ordered.” Walraven averred that he had sent a copy of the motion to Mr. Carpanzano by certified mail, regular mail, and email, with no response. He further stated that he believed Mr. Carpanzano to be out of the country at the time, but that prior efforts to contact him by email had been successful. Walraven provided the court with Mr. Carpanzano’s last known mailing address and email address. Mr. Carpanzano did not file a response to the motion to withdraw, and the district court granted the motion on February 10, 2012.

By February 16, 2012, Mr. Carpanzano had retained the law firm of Springer & Steinberg to represent him. According to Scott’s counsel, attorneys with Springer & Steinberg informed them that they represented Mr. Carpanzano, but that they had not been authorized to enter an appearance in the district court. While the Springer & Steinberg attorneys never entered an appearance in the district court, they conducted extensive settlement negotiations with Scott’s attorneys and communicated with Mr. Carpanzano regarding the potential for settlement up until September 2012.

Scott filed his second amended complaint on March 28, 2012, adding as defendants Mr. Carpanzano’s wife, Marisa Belcastro (“Ms. Belcastro”), and Mr. Car-panzano’s daughter, Carmela Carpanzano (“Ms. Carpanzano”). Ms. Belcastro and Ms. Carpanzano were personally served with the second amended complaint. Scott emailed the second amended complaint to Mr. Carpanzano’s last known email address and Mr. Carpanzano’s attorneys at Springer & Steinberg.

The second amended complaint asserts numerous claims and contains substantial factual allegations against Mr. Carpanzano and Ms. Belcastro. In relevant part, it alleges that Scott entered into an escrow agreement regarding a contemplated loan transaction, pursuant to which Scott was to *291 transfer $2 million into an escrow account maintained by a trust and investment company owned and managed by Mr. Carpan-zano and Ms. Belcastro. The complaint alleges that Mr. Carpanzano made significant misrepresentations regarding the contemplated loan transaction, escrow account, and trust and investment company, which induced Scott into wiring $2 million to the escrow account. Further, it alleges that immediately after Scott placed the funds in the account, Ms. Belcastro initiated a series of transactions by which she withdrew or transferred the majority of the $2 million out of the account in violation of the escrow agreement.

By contrast, the second amended complaint does not contain any factual allegations of acts, omissions, or knowledge on the part of Ms. Carpanzano. The only fact alleged relating to Ms. Carpanzano is that $46,608.94 of the funds transferred out of the account were used to purchase a 2008 Land Rover Range Rover that was titled in Ms. Carpanzano’s name.

The Defendants did not file answers to the second amended complaint, and Scott sought and obtained a clerk’s entry of default against each of them. Scott then filed motions for default judgment against the Defendants. Hearings were held on the motions, but the Defendants did not appear at the hearings. On June 14, 2012, the district court entered a default judgment against Mr. Carpanzano and Ms. Carpanzano for $2,050,000 in actual damages, jointly and severally with the other defendants, $4,100,000 in punitive damages against Mr. Carpanzano, and $50,000 in punitive damages against Ms. Carpanzano. On August 28, 2012, the district court entered a default judgment against Ms. Bel-castro for $2,050,000 in actual damages, jointly and severally with the other defendants, and $4,100,000 in punitive damages.

On December 18, 2012, through newly retained counsel, the Defendants filed motions to set aside the default judgments. Mr. Carpanzano argued that the default judgment against him should be set aside as void pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4), and all three Defendants argued that the default judgments should be set aside for good cause pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 55(c) and 60(b)(1). After holding a hearing, the district court denied the motions. The Defendants timely appealed the district court’s denial of their motions. 1

II. Mr. Carpanzano’s Request Pursuant to Rule 60(b)(4)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4) allows a court to relieve a party from a final judgment if the judgment is void. Fed.R.Civ.P. 60(b)(4). It applies only when a judgment is premised on a “jurisdictional error or on a violation of due process that deprives a party of notice or the opportunity to be heard.” United Student Aid Funds, Inc. v. Espinosa, 559 U.S. 260, 271, 130 S.Ct. 1367, 176 L.Ed.2d 158 (2010). Our review of a district court’s Rule 60(b)(4) ruling is effectively de novo because a judgment is either a legal nullity or not. FDIC v. SLE, Inc., 722 F.3d 264, 267 (5th Cir.2013).

Mr. Carpanzano argues that the default judgment against him is void for want of due process because he was not served with the second amended complaint, the motion for default judgment, or the default judgment in compliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5. See

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556 F. App'x 288, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rick-scott-v-amer-natl-trust-invst-co-ca5-2014.