14-1021

Ministers & Missionari es v. Leon Snow

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

F OR THE S ECOND C IRCUIT

_______________

August Term, 2014

(Argued: January 12, 2015 Decided: February 23, 2016)

Docket No. 14

‐ 1021

_______________

T HE M INISTERS AND M ISSIONARIES B ENEFIT BOARD

,

Interpleader

‐ Plaintiff

‐ Cross

‐ Defendant

‐ Appellee

,

—v.—

L EON S NOW

, L E A NN Y OWELL S NOW

,

Interpleader

‐ Defendants

‐ Cross

‐ Claimants

‐ Appellants

,

—v.—

T HE E STATE OF C LARK F LESHER

, M ICHELE A RNOLDY

, Individually & as Personal

Representative of the Estate of Clark Flesher,

Interpleader

‐ Defendants

‐ Appellees

.

_______________

B e f o r e:

K ATZMANN

, Chief Judge

, K EARSE and R AGGI

, Circuit Judges

.2 _______________

Appeal from a final judgment entered on March 26, 2014, by the United

States District Court for the Southern District of New York (Forrest, Judge )

granting summary judgment for the Estate of Clark Flesher and Michele

Arnoldy, and denying summary judgment for Leon and LeAnn Yowell Snow.

We previously certified two questions to the New York Court of Appeals. Based

on the Court of Appeals’ response, we now vacate and remand to the district

court.

_______________

J ESSE T. W ILKINS (Gregory R. Preston, on the brief)

, Preston & Wilkins, LLC,

Levittown, NY, for Leon and LeAnn Yowell Snow

.

B RIAN R OSNER (Natalie A. Napierala, on the brief ), Carlton Fields Jorden Burt,

P.A., New York, NY, for the Estate of Clark Flesher and Michele Arnoldy.

_______________

P ER C URIAM :

This appeal challenges a judgment of the United States District Court for

the Southern District of New York (Forrest, Judge ), holding that the Estate of

Clark Flesher is entitled to receive the proceeds of two benefits plans

administered by the Ministers and Missionaries Benefit Board (“MMBB”), in

which Flesher was a participant. See Ministers & Missionaries Benefit Bd. v. Estate of

Clark Flesher

, No. 11 Civ. 9495 (KBF), 2014 WL 1116846 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 18, 2014).

The two MMBB contracts at issue each designate New York law as the governing

law. Relying on these governing

‐ law provisions, the district court applied New3 York Estates, Powers & Trusts Law (“EPTL”) section 3

‐ 5.1(b)(2), which provides

that the “revocation or alteration of a testamentary disposition of personal

property, and the manner in which such property devolves when not disposed of

by will, are determined by the law of the jurisdiction in which the decedent was

domiciled at death.” The district court concluded that Flesher was domiciled in

Colorado at the time of his death and, accordingly, resolved the parties’ dispute

under the substantive law of Colorado. See Ministers & Missionaries Benefit Bd.

,

2014 WL 1116846, at *6.

The facts are set forth in detail in our opinion filed in this case on March 5,

2015. See Ministers & Missionaries Benefit Bd. v. Snow

, 780 F.3d 150, 151–53 (2d Cir.

2015). In that opinion, we certified the following questions to the New York

Court of Appeals:

(1) Whether a governing

‐ law provision that states that the contract will be

governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of

New York, in a contract not consummated pursuant to New York

General Obligations Law section 5

‐ 1401, requires the application of

New York Estates, Powers & Trusts Law section 3

‐ 5.1(b)(2), a New York

statute that may, in turn, require application of the law of another state?

(2) If so, whether a person’s entitlement to proceeds under a death benefit

or retirement plan, paid upon the death of the person making the

designation, constitutes “personal property

. . . not disposed of by will”

within the meaning of New York Estates, Powers & Trusts Law section

3

‐ 5.1(b)(2)?4 Id. at 155. In an opinion filed December 15, 2015, the Court of Appeals answered

the first question in the negative and, accordingly, declined to reach the second

question. See Ministers & Missionaries Benefit Bd. v. Snow

, ‐‐‐ N.E.3d

‐‐‐ , 26 N.Y.3d

466, 2015 N.Y. Slip Op. 09186, at 4 (N.Y. Dec. 15, 2015), available at 2015 WL

8677172. It held that “when parties include a choice

‐ of

‐ law provision in a

contract, they intend that the law of the chosen state

— and no other state

— will

be applied. In such a situation, the chosen state’s substantive law

— but not its

common

‐ law conflict

‐ of

‐ laws principles or statutory choice

‐ of

‐ law directives

—

is to be applied, unless the parties expressly indicate otherwise.” Id

. at 15.

The ruling of the Court of Appeals resolves the principal issues before us.

We hold that the district court erred by applying the statutory choice

‐ of

‐ law

provision in EPTL section 3

‐ 5.1(b)(2), which led it to erroneously apply the

substantive law of Colorado rather than the substantive law of New York.

Accordingly, we vacate the order of the district court and remand for further

proceedings consistent with this opinion.

VACATED and REMANDED.