Schydlower v. Pan American Life Insurance

231 F.R.D. 493, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22632, 2005 WL 2385346
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedSeptember 27, 2005
DocketNo. EP-04-CA-441-DB
StatusPublished

This text of 231 F.R.D. 493 (Schydlower v. Pan American Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Schydlower v. Pan American Life Insurance, 231 F.R.D. 493, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22632, 2005 WL 2385346 (W.D. Tex. 2005).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BRIONES, District Judge.

On this day, the Court considered Defendant Pan American Life Insurance Company’s (“Pan Am”) “Motion To Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant To Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1)” (“Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction”), filed in the above-captioned cause on February 10, 2005. On February 23, 2005, Plaintiff Manuel Schydlower filed a “Brief In Opposition To Defendant’s Rule 12(b)(1) Motion” (“Response”). On March 7, 2005, Defendant filed a “Reply To Plaintiffs Response To Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss For Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant To Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1).”

On this day, the Court also considered Defendant Pan Am’s “Motion To Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant To Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6)” (“Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim”), filed in the above-captioned cause on January 31, 2005. On February 11, 2005, Plaintiff filed a “Brief In Opposition To Defendant’s Rule 12(b)(6) Motion” (“Response”). On February 25, 2005, Defendant filed a “Reply To Plaintiffs Response To Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss For Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant To Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).” On March 14, 2005, Pan Am filed a “Sur-reply [sic] To Plaintiffs Response To Defendant’s Motion To Dismiss For Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant To Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6).” After due consideration, the Court is of the opinion that both of Pan Am’s Motions to Dismiss should be denied. The Court concludes that Plaintiff has standing, that the instant suit is not preempted by the International Claims Settlement Act, [495]*495Claims Against Cuba or China, 22 U.S.C. § 1643, et seq. (West 2004), that the Texas statute of limitations applies, and that Plaintiff has pled fraud with sufficient particularity, such that the Texas statute of limitations does not bar Plaintiffs claims.

Background

Since the Court presently considers Pan Am’s Motions to Dismiss, it takes the factual allegations of Plaintiffs amended complaint as true and resolves any ambiguities or doubts regarding the sufficiency of the claim in favor of Plaintiff. See Fernandez-Montes v. Allied Pilots Ass’n., 987 F.2d 278, 284 (5th Cir.1993) (considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the court applied this standard); see also Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap As v. HeereMac Vof, 241 F.3d 420, 424 (5th Cir.2001) (accepting all factual allegations in the plaintiffs complaint as true where it considered a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction).

This is a case of alleged corporate fraud. Pan Am is a Louisiana insurance and finance company, with its principal place of business in New Orleans, Louisiana. Pan Am began operating in Cuba in 1913. Plaintiff was bom on November 1, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, to Leibush Shydlower Perelmuter (“Leibush”) and Anna Szydlower (“Anna”). As an infant, Plaintiffs parents took him to Cuba where they raised him. While residing in Cuba, Leibush, Plaintiffs father, purchased a life insurance policy, number 435-381, from Pan Am in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. On the night of December 31, 1958, Fidel Castro’s revolutionary army overthrew Fulgencio Batista’s government. Leibush’s policy matured on June 1,1959.

In the summer of 1959, Castro’s government began seizing money and private property. On July 7, 1959, Leibush contracted with Pan-Am to leave the value of the mature policy in Pan Am’s possession. Leibush and Pan Am entered into an Agreement of Settlement (“Agreement”) which provided that the life insurance policy’s proceeds or any portion could be withdrawn by Leibush at any date. The Agreement further established Anna as the Agreement’s primary beneficiary, and Plaintiff as the Agreement s secondary beneficiary.

In a Financial Statement for its Cuban branch issued December 31, 1959, Pan Am declared that as “an International organization, it is the practice of [Pan Am] to centralize its available assets, so that, besides maintaining assets to cover specific and technical reserves, the risks insured anywhere in the world are guaranteed additionally by the general assets of the Company.”

On September 21, 1961, Plaintiff left Cuba and began residing in Champaign, Illinois. By letter dated December 30, 1961, as Lei-bush’s agent, Plaintiff attempted to redeem the Agreement’s proceeds from Pan Am at its New Orleans headquarters. By letter dated January 5, 1962, Pan Am counsel responded to Plaintiffs demand as follows:

‘Your letter of December 30, 1961 in connection with the above mentioned policy has been referred to the Legal Department of the Company for reply.”
“We regret to inform you that the Cuban Government seized our Cuban assets and liabilities, included in which is the reserve existing on policy No. 435-381 which was invested in Cuba by this Company. This action took place on October 6, 1960. Under these circumstances, the administration of your father’s policy and the liability thereunder will be handled by the Pan-American Life Insurance Company Nacio-nalizada, which under Cuban law is being administered by the Social Security Bank through their appointed administrator, Mr. Armando G. Olivera. Their last address available to us is Pan-American Life Insurance Company Nacionalizada, Oficina de Control de Seguros de Vida, Apartado 6607, La Habana, Cuba. Any inquires relative to the policy in question should be addressed to them.”
‘You may be assured that we regret being placed in this position. We would much prefer to have continued the normal operation of our business, but we have no control over the actions of the Cuban Government.”

Leibush died on September 1,1966. Anna joined Plaintiff in the United States in June 1968. As the Agreement’s primary benefi[496]*496ciary upon Leibush’s death, Anna directed Plaintiff as her agent to renew the family’s demand. By letter dated October 15, 1969, Plaintiff, on behalf of Anna, tried to claim the money Leibush had left with Pan Am. Pan Am responded by letter dated November 10, 1969 which stated:

“Your letter of October 15 addressed to the president of our company has been referred to me for reply.”
“As we previously advised you in 1962, copy of which letter is enclosed, the Cuban government substituted itself in place of this company on all contracts issued through our former Cuban Branch Office to Cuban nationals. As we advised you, any inquiries should be made to the Cuban government.”
“By decree law 1193 issued in July, 1966, the Cuban government called in all of these policies for final settlement.”

On October 15, 1969, John K.

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Bluebook (online)
231 F.R.D. 493, 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 22632, 2005 WL 2385346, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/schydlower-v-pan-american-life-insurance-txwd-2005.