United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 04-2469
METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiff,
v.
BEVERLY A. ZALDIVAR,
Defendant, Appellee,
&
SANDRA L. ZALDIVAR, DANIEL C.E. ZALDIVAR,
and THOMAS A. ZALDIVAR,
Defendants, Appellants.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
[Hon. Michael A. Ponsor, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Lynch, Circuit Judge,
Baldock,* Senior Circuit Judge,
and Lipez, Circuit Judge.
Sean J. Cleary for appellee.
Mark J. Albano, with whom Dalsey, Ferrara & Albano was on the
brief, for appellants.
June 27, 2005
*
Of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting by
designation.
BALDOCK, Senior Circuit Judge. The sole issue before us
on appeal is whether the Federal Employees Group Life Insurance Act
(FEGLIA), 5 U.S.C. §§ 8701-8716, preempts a state law claim for the
imposition of a constructive trust upon the proceeds of a federal
group life insurance policy. We hold that it does.
The facts are not in dispute. Decedent Albert Zaldivar
was an employee of the United States Postal Service. A state
divorce decree from his first marriage (originally entered in New
York and subsequently ratified in New Hampshire) directed decedent
to name his three children, Appellants Sandra L. Zaldivar, Daniel
C.E. Zaldivar, and Thomas A. Zaldivar, as beneficiaries of his
federal group life insurance policy. Notwithstanding the decree,
decedent named his second wife, Appellee Beverly Zaldivar, as sole
beneficiary of the policy once his children reached adulthood.
Upon decedent’s death in June 2001, the policy issuer,
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MetLife), initiated this
interpleader action in federal district court. See Fed. R. Civ. P.
22. The district court permitted disbursement of the policy
proceeds to Beverly. Thereafter, the children moved the court,
pursuant to state law, to impose a constructive trust on the
proceeds. The court denied the motion and entered judgment in
favor of Beverly, holding FEGLIA preempted the children’s state law
claim.
The district court issued a thorough, well-reasoned
opinion. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Zaldivar, 337 F. Supp. 2d
343 (D. Mass. 2004). To support its holding that FEGLIA preempted
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the state law claim, the court relied on FEGLIA’s (1) language and
scheme, (2) the overwhelming weight of federal court authority
holding FEGLIA’s provisions preempt state law, and (3) a 1998
amendment to FEGLIA allowing domestic relations orders to alter
FEGLIA’s benefit distribution scheme under specified circumstances.
Id. at 346-48.
We have carefully reviewed the record, the applicable
law, and the parties’ briefs, and conclude the district court
reached the correct result. We have repeatedly opined that “when
a lower court accurately takes the measure of a case and
articulates a cogent rationale, it serves no useful purpose for a
reviewing court to write at length.” Seaco Ins. Co. v. Davis-
Irish, 300 F.3d 84, 86 (1st Cir. 2002) (citing cases). Thus, we
affirm the district court’s judgment for substantially the reasons
set forth in its opinion. We add only these brief comments.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Ridgway v. Ridgway, 454
U.S. 46 (1981), dictates the outcome of this case. In Ridgway, the
issue was whether a serviceman’s beneficiary designation under a
policy governed by the Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance Act
(SGLIA), 38 U.S.C. §§ 1965-1979, prevailed over a constructive
trust (based on a divorce decree) which a state court imposed upon
the policy proceeds. Like FEGLIA, SGLIA establishes a specified
“order of precedence” for policy beneficiaries. Subsection (a) of
both 5 U.S.C. § 8705 and 38 U.S.C. § 1970 provides that policy
proceeds shall first be paid to the insured’s properly designated
beneficiary. Because the applicable language of FEGLIA and SGLIA
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are very similar, a case construing the latter, such as Ridgway, is
highly persuasive, if not binding, in construing the former. See
Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Christ, 979 F.2d 575, 580-82 (7th
Cir. 1992); see also Prudential Ins. Co. v. Hinkel, 121 F.3d 364,
367 (8th Cir. 1997); Brewer v. Zawrotny, 978 F.2d 1204, 1206 n.2
(10th Cir. 1992).
The Court in Ridgway concluded that Congress, in enacting
SGLIA, “spoke[] with force and clarity in directing that the
proceeds belong to the named beneficiary and no other.” Ridgway,
454 U.S. at 56 (internal quotations omitted). Thus, we are bound
to conclude the state divorce decree directing the decedent to
designate his children as beneficiaries under his life insurance
policy conflicted with the decedent’s right under FEGLIA to name
the beneficiary, and must give way. See Christ, 979 F.2d at 582.
Finally, we note the children could have avoided today’s
result if they had complied with the 1998 amendment to FEGLIA prior
to decedent’s death in 2001. See Pub. L. No. 105-205, § 1, 112
Stat. 683 (July 22, 1998). Cognizant of the possible inequities in
cases such as this, Congress created an exception to the insured’s
unfettered right to name the beneficiary of his or her choosing
under § 8705(a). Subsection (a) is now subject to § 8705(e).
Subsection (e) provides that domestic decrees may alter the order
of precedence set forth in subsection (a) if “received, before the
date of the covered employee’s death,” by the appropriate agency or
office. As the district court explained: “To alter the designation
of a beneficiary in this case by imposing a constructive trust
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would directly contradict the language of § 8705(e) that
specifically mandates the conditions that must be met for a court
divorce decree to be given effect.” Zaldivar, 337 F. Supp. 2d at
348.
AFFIRMED.
Each party shall bear their own costs on appeal.
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