Securian Life Insurance Company v. Saxena

Opinion

1 THE HONORABLE TANA LIN 2 3 4 5 9 SECURIAN LIFE INSURANCE Case No. 2:24-cv-00012-TL COMPANY, 10 STIPULATED MOTION AND Plaintiff, [PROPOSED] ORDER FOR LEAVE TO 11 DEPOSIT INTERPLEADER FUNDS v. 12 [Local Court Rules7(d), 67; FRCP 67] SONAM SAXENA, an individual; THE 13 ESTATE OF SMRITI SAXENA, by and NOTE ON MOTION CALENDAR: through its Personal Representative Sonam April 16, 2024 14 Saxena; and DOES 1 to 10, inclusive, 15 Defendants. 16 17 IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED by and between Plaintiff Securian Life Insurance Company 18 and defendants SONAM SAXENA, an individual, and THE ESTATE OF SMRITI SAXENA, by 19 and through its Personal Representative Sonam Saxena that Securian Life be granted leave to 20 interplead the sum payable under the subject insurance policy (including applicable interest and a 21 deduction of an award of attorneys’ fees and costs) as follows: 22 Securian Life Insurance Company (“Securian Life”) is subject to competing claims 23 for insurance benefits in the amount of $750,000.00 (the “Death Benefit”) payable because the 24 death of Smriti Saxena (the “Decedent”), an employee’s dependent insured under group term life 25 insurance policy number 70412 (the “Policy”) issued by Securian Life as a part of Google LLC’s 26 employee welfare benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 27 (“ERISA”). Securian Life claims no beneficial interest in the Death Benefit at issue. Rather, 28 1 the persons with adverse claims to the Death Benefit interplead and resolve their competing claims, 2 and for Securian Life to be discharged from all further liability. As such, Securian Life should be 3 permitted, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 67, to pay the Death Benefit (plus interest 4 and less attorneys’ fees and costs) into the Registry of the Court. 5 Securian issued group term life insurance policy number 70412 (the “Policy”) to 6 Google LLC providing a Dependents Term Life Insurance Certificate Supplement (“Supplement”) 7 to eligible employees’ dependents, including Sonam Saxena’s spouse Smriti Saxena (herein the 8 “Decedent”). See Complaint, Dkt. No. 1, at ¶ 8. The Policy (and Supplement) is a part of Google 9 LLC’s employee welfare benefit plan governed by ERISA. Id. Under the ERISA plan, The 10 Supplement provided that Securian will pay the Death Benefit to “you [(Sonam Saxena)] if living, 11 otherwise to your estate.” Id., at ¶ 10. The Supplement does not otherwise designate a person as 12 secondary beneficiary. Id. The Death Benefit under the Policy payable by reason of the Decedent’s 13 death, and subject to this interpleader action, is $750,000.00. Id., at ¶ 9. 14 Prior to, and until, February 18, 2020, Sonam Saxena was the eligible employee 15 under the ERISA plan and was the designated beneficiary pursuant to the terms of the Supplement. 16 Id., at ¶ 11. The Decedent died on February 18, 2020. Id., at ¶12. 17 Shortly after Decedent’s death, Securian received notice of Decedent’s death and 18 opened a claim for the Death Benefit under the Supplement. Securian is the insurance carrier and 19 claims administrator under the Policy and Supplement. Id., at ¶13. 20 Securian received a copy of the death certificate regarding the Decedent which listed 21 the cause of death as homicidal violence of undetermined etiology. Id., at ¶14. 22 With respect to the Death Benefit owed under the Supplement, Securian Life has 23 received and/or is otherwise on notice of competing and adverse claims to the Death Benefit. Id., 24 at ¶ 20. Thus, Securian Life is unable to pay the Death Benefit without being exposed to the risk 25 of double or multiple liability and/or contravening Google’s ERISA governed employee welfare 26 benefits plan. 27 On January 3, 2024, Securian Life filed a Complaint in Interpleader pursuant to 28 F ederal Rule of Civil Procedure 22 and 28 U.S .C. §1332 asking that the Court interplead th e 1 Defendants, fully and finally discharge it from all liability under the Policy, award its fees and 2 costs, and dismiss it from the action. See, Complaint, Dkt. No.1. The defendants have appeared. 3 See, Answers to Complaint at Dkt. Nos. 14 and 15. 4 Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 67 permits Securian Life to deposit the Death 5 Benefits under the Policy into the Court’s Registry. Specifically, Rule 67 provides: 6 If any part of the relief sought is a money judgment or the disposition of a sum of money or some other deliverable thing, a party—on notice to every other party and by leave of court— 7 may deposit with the court all or part of the money or thing, whether or not that party claims any of it. The depositing party must deliver to the clerk a copy of the order permitting 8 deposit. 9 FED. R. CIV. P. 67(a). 10 Securian Life has complied with Local Rules 7(d) and 67 with regard to the request 11 to deposit funds. A proposed order is included with this stipulated motion. 12 Depositing the Death Benefit ($750,000.00) plus any applicable interest and less 13 Securian Life’s attorneys’ fees and cost will facilitate judicial economy by permitting Securian 14 Life, which is merely an innocent stakeholder, to withdraw from the dispute while entitlement to 15 the Death Benefit is resolved between adverse claimants. 16 The parties agree that Securian Life is entitled to recover its fees and costs totaling 17 $23,111.60 and this amount should be deducted from the Death Benefit prior to deposit into the 18 Court’s Registry. An award of attorneys’ fees and costs to an interpleader plaintiff may be deducted 19 from the interpleaded funds. See Schirmer Co. Ltd. v. Seaboard Stevedoring Corp., 306 F.2d 188, 20 194–95 (9th Cir. 1962). 21 For the reasons set forth above, the parties request an Order permitting Securian Life 22 to deposit the Death Benefit ($750,000.00) plus applicable interest and less $23,111.60 to the Clerk 23 of this Court for the Court to deposit into the Court’s Registry. The deposit shall be made within 24 30 days of the Order. The Clerk shall deposit the amount tendered by Securian Life into the Court’s 25 Registry until such time as the Court makes an order directing disbursement and distribution of 26 these funds. 27 28 1 DATED this 16th day of April 2024. 2 McDOWELL HETHERINGTON LLP STOKES LAWRENCE, P.S. 3 4 By: /s/ Jodi K. Swick By: /s/ Karolyn Hicks Jodi Swick, (WSBA #47626) Karolyn Hicks (WSBA #30418) 5 14205 SE 36th Street, Suite 100 1420 Fifth Avenue, Suite 3000 6 Bellevue, WA 98006 Seattle, WA 98101-2393 Telephone: (510) 628-2145 Telephone: (206) 626-6000 7 Fax: (510) 628-2146 Fax: (206) 464-1496 Email: jodi.swick@mhllp.com Email: Karolyn.Hicks@stokeslaw.com 8 Attorneys for Plaintiff Securian Life Attorneys for Defendant Estate of Smriti 9 Insurance Company Saxen 12 By: s/ Todd Maybrown_________ 13 Todd Maybrown 14 600 University Street, Suite 3020 Seattle, WA 98101 15 Telephone: 206-447-9681 16 Fax: 206-447-0839 Email: todd@ahmlawyers.com 17 Attorneys for Defendant Sonam Saxena 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2 IT IS SO ORDERD: 3 1. Securian Life Insurance Company may deposit $750,000.00, plus applicable interest 4 and less $23,111.60 into the Court’s Registry. The deposit shall be made within 30 days of this 5 Order. 6 2. The amount tendered by Securian Life into the Court’s Registry shall remain in the 7 Registry until such time as the Court makes an order directing disbursement and distribution of 8 these funds. 9 3. The Clerk is directed to deposit funds into the Registry of the Court in the principal 10 amount of $750,000.00, plus applicable interest and less $23,111.60 11 12 Dated: April 22, 2024 Hon. Tana Lin 13 UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28