Shurland Robin Demergue Bell v. Nutmeg Airways Corp.

407 F. Supp. 1254
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedFebruary 10, 1976
DocketCiv. No. H-74-211
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 407 F. Supp. 1254 (Shurland Robin Demergue Bell v. Nutmeg Airways Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Shurland Robin Demergue Bell v. Nutmeg Airways Corp., 407 F. Supp. 1254 (D. Conn. 1976).

Opinion

RULING ON MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

BLUMENFELD, District Judge.

This is a statutory interpleader action brought by Shurland Robin Demergue Bell, more commonly known as Underwriters of Lloyd’s, London. The subject matter of this suit is the proceeds of an insurance policy issued by the plaintiff to one of the defendants, Nutmeg Airways Corporation (Nutmeg). That policy insured a Nutmeg helicopter stored at the Mercer County Airport in West Trenton, New Jersey.

On April 15, 1969, the helicopter was destroyed in a fire. Nutmeg and Lloyd’s agreed upon a settlement figure of $44,-000, but, before it paid over that amount, Lloyd’s was served with notice of claims upon the settlement fund by two additional parties, amounting to $21,394.59. Lloyd’s therefore brought [1256]*1256this action to determine the rights of the various parties to the disputed amount. It paid the sum of $22,237.52, the disputed amount plus accrued interest, into the registry of this court and the remainder of the settlement to Nutmeg.

The defendants in this action are Nutmeg Airways Corporation, the payee of the policy; Richard Futtner, the president of Nutmeg; Northeast Helicopters, Inc. (Northeast) and John Ryan, creditors of Nutmeg who have served garnishments on the plaintiff; and the Ron-son Corporation, a New Jersey Corporation which has served the plaintiff with notice of a mechanics lien for services to the insured helicopter prior to the fire. In addition, Solomon & Brown, a Connecticut law firm, has filed an answer claiming an interest in the fund arising out of its representation of Nutmeg in earlier litigation.

Three of the defendants, Nutmeg, Northeast and John Ryan, have moved for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56(b), Fed.R.Civ.P. After oral argument and a full examination of the affidavits submitted by the parties, this court has determined that there exists no genuine issue as to any material fact. Thus, this is a proper case for summary judgment.

I. Jurisdiction

This action satisfies the jurisdictional requirements of the interpleader statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1335. The amount in controversy exceeds $500. The requirement that at least two of the adverse claimants be of diverse citizenship is also satisfied.1 Finally, the plaintiff has paid the amount into the registry of this court, as required by § 1335(a)(2).

II. The Claim of Northeast Helicopters

A. The validity of Northeast’s garnishment.

Northeast, through its trustee, filed an action against Nutmeg in the Court of Common Pleas in Hartford, Connecticut, on December 9, 1970. At the commencement of that action Northeast filed a garnishment with Lloyd’s, pursuant to Conn.Gen.Stat.Ann. §§ 52-281 and 52-329. On January 12, 1973, in an unrelated action in which Northeast was a party, this court declared § 52-329 unconstitutional. Lynch v. Household Finance Corp., 360 F.Supp. 720 (D.Conn.1973).

As a result of that decision Nutmeg made two attempts to have the garnishment set aside. In May 1973, Nutmeg filed a motion to have the attorneys for Northeast held in contempt for violating the injunction entered in Lynch. However, Nutmeg withdrew the motion after oral argument.

On June 20, 1973, Nutmeg filed a motion in the Court of Common Pleas seeking to have the garnishment order set aside. This motion was denied in an order dated July 13, 1973.

On July 2, 1974, while the garnishment was still in effect, Lloyd’s began this action, and, as required by statute, paid the money into court. On August 15, 1974, a stipulated judgment in favor of Northeast in the amount of $9,000 was entered by the Court of Common Pleas. Northeast, however, made no attempt to comply with Conn.Gen.Stat.Ann. § 52-328, which requires a creditor to perfect his garnishment lien by filing a demand with the garnishee within 60 days of the judgment. Despite this failure, Northeast has moved for summary judgment for $9,000 and its costs.

This motion is opposed by Nutmeg, which seeks, once again, to challenge the constitutionality of the original garnishment. Nutmeg also claims that the garnishment lien is no longer valid because Northeast failed to comply with Conn. Gen.Stat.Ann. § 52-278g (1975 Supp.),2 [1257]*1257which provided a method whereby creditors who had secured prejudgment remedies prior to May 30, 1973, could validate them by having a probable cause hearing.

These objections are easily answered. The first response is that the motion attacking the garnishment brought by Nutmeg in the Court of Common Pleas on June 20, 1973 satisfied the requirements of § 52-278g. Although the motion was not brought by the plaintiff in the action, as the statute requires, Nutmeg received a hearing by a neutral magistrate, who upheld the validity of the garnishment, which is all that the Constitution requires. North Georgia Finishing, Inc. v. Di-Chem, Inc., 419 U.S. 601, 607, 95 S.Ct. 719, 42 L.Ed.2d 751 (1975).

An even more fundamental response, however, is that Nutmeg has stipulated to the judgment and cannot now contend that there was not probable cause for the claim. It borders on the frivolous for Nutmeg to attempt to use that claim to deprive Northeast of the benefits of a judgment to which Nutmeg has stipulated. If Nutmeg suffered some separate harm due to the use of an unconstitutional remedy, it is free to sue to recover for that injury.

B. The effect of this interpleader action on the incomplete garnishment lien.

A more serious question is raised by the fact that Northeast never executed on its judgment in the manner prescribed by Conn.Gen.Stat.Ann. § 52-328.3 The Connecticut Supreme Court has held that a failure to comply with the statute extinguishes the attachment lien and prevents its merger into a judgment lien. Bradbury v. Wodjenski, 159 Conn. 366, 269 A.2d 271 (1970).

Northeast presents three arguments why its non-compliance with the statute should be excused. It points out, first, that no execution could have been made because the money had already been paid into the registry of this court. 30 Am.Jur.2d, Executions § 191 (1967). But see New Haven Saw-Mill Co. v. Fowler, 28 Conn. 103 (1859). It also cites Burrows v. Stoddard, 3 Conn. 431 (1820), which held that when the garnishee had improperly sold the property, and thereby put it out of the reach of execution by the garnishor, it was not necessary for the garnishor to have made a demand which would have been futile.4 This argument is not persuasive. [1258]

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407 F. Supp. 1254, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/shurland-robin-demergue-bell-v-nutmeg-airways-corp-ctd-1976.