F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
AUG 14 2001
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
PATRICK FISHER
Clerk
TENTH CIRCUIT
CINDY RICE,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
THE OFFICE OF
No. 99-6354
SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE
INSURANCE, a subsidiary of The
Prudential Insurance Company of
America, a corporation,
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Oklahoma
(D.C. No. 98-CV-1566-M)
Glen Mullins, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff-Appellant.
David L. Kearney (Amy M. Cox with him on the brief), of Gable & Gotwals,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Defendant-Appellee.
Before EBEL and HENRY, Circuit Judges, and ROGERS, * District Judge.
EBEL, Circuit Judge.
Honorable Richard Dean Rogers, Senior District Court Judge, District of
*
Kansas, sitting by designation.
This case is about the proceeds of a Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance
(SGLI) policy covering Ronald Rice (“Decedent”). Cindy Rice (“Plaintiff”) was
Decedent’s wife and had been the beneficiary of this policy, but Decedent
changed the beneficiary to his mother twenty-three days before he committed
suicide. Plaintiff argues that the change was invalid because Decedent lacked
sufficient mental capacity at that time and his mother exerted undue influence
over him. The district court granted summary judgment to the insurance company
on the issue of undue influence, and a jury found against Plaintiff on the issue of
mental capacity. On appeal, Plaintiff argues that (1) the district court incorrectly
instructed the jury that there is a rebuttable presumption of mental capacity; (2)
there was sufficient evidence to overcome summary judgment on the issue of
undue influence; and (3) she was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the
issue of mental capacity. We AFFIRM on all issues.
BACKGROUND
Decedent committed suicide on May 8, 1998. As a member of the Army
Reserves, he carried a $200,000 life insurance policy from the Office of
Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (OSGLI), which is a subsidiary of the
Prudential Insurance Company of America. On April 16, 1998, twenty-three days
before his death, Decedent changed the beneficiary of this policy from his wife,
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Plaintiff, to his ailing mother, Wilma Evans. At the same time, he filed a “Record
of Emergency Data” in which he instructed the Army to inform only his mother if
he died. It did not list Plaintiff, their daughter, Erika, or his four sons from a
previous marriage. Earlier, on January 25, 1998, Decedent had signed a military
benefits form that listed his former wife, Kathy Rice, as his spouse and ended his
children’s eligibility for benefits. The misinformation on this form may have
been due to glitches in the military’s computer system.
Decedent had a history of clinical depression, for which he had received
some treatment, and had attempted suicide before. Friends and family testified
that Decedent was acting somewhat strangely in the weeks leading up to his
suicide. The Rices’ marriage was under strain, and at times Decedent was
considering divorcing Plaintiff and moving back to West Virginia with his
mother, Evans.
Evans testified that during the last few months of his life, Decedent was
calling her at least daily, as opposed to two to three times a month before then.
Phone records show that the two spoke for 33 minutes on April 15, the day before
he designated her the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. Evans testified that
they did not discuss the life insurance policy until several days after he had
changed it.
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Plaintiff sought payment from the OSGLI after Decedent’s death. The
OSGLI provided Plaintiff an opportunity to document Decedent’s lack of mental
capacity when he changed the beneficiary of his insurance policy. Because
Plaintiff provided only lay affidavits rather than a medical opinion, the OSGLI
paid Evans.
Plaintiff brought this suit, arguing both that Decedent did not have the
mental capacity to change beneficiaries on April 16 and that Evans exercised
undue influence on him. The district court granted summary judgment on the
undue influence question. After a trial on the issue of mental capacity, the jury
found for the OSGLI.
DISCUSSION
I. Jurisdiction
Both parties concede, and the district court accepted, that federal
jurisdiction over this case is conferred by 38 U.S.C. § 1975. Nonetheless, we
have an independent duty to examine our jurisdiction. Maier v. EPA, 114 F.3d
1032, 1036 (10th Cir. 1997). We ultimately conclude that we have jurisdiction,
but on different grounds than that advanced by the parties.
The jurisdictional provision relied on by the parties provides, “The district
courts of the United States shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action or
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claim against the United States founded upon [the SGLI subchapter].” 38 U.S.C.
§ 1975. Plaintiff’s lawsuit, however, is not against the United States. Rather, it
is against the OSGLI, a division of the Prudential Insurance Company and
therefore a private entity. This is in accordance with the governing regulations,
which state that “[a]ctions at law or in equity to recover on the policy, in which
there is not alleged any breach of any obligation undertaken by the United States,
should be brought against the insurer.” 38 C.F.R. § 9.13.
Several district courts have assumed without analysis that § 1975 or its
predecessor, former 38 U.S.C. § 775, confer federal jurisdiction over suits against
the OSGLI or Prudential. E.g., Kilburn v. SGLI Co., 587 F. Supp. 54, 54 (S.D.
Ohio 1984); cf. Stratton v. SGLI Co., 422 F. Supp. 1119, 1120 (S.D. Iowa 1976)
(noting that “no objection has been made to the Court’s taking of jurisdiction”
under former § 775). 1 None of these cases provide analysis of the jurisdictional
question, and thus they do not constitute strong precedent on the issue. Cf.
United States v. L.A. Tucker Truck Lines, 344 U.S. 33, 38 (1952) (“[T]his Court
is not bound by a prior exercise of jurisdiction in a case where it was not
questioned and it was passed sub silentio.”).
1
At oral argument, counsel for the OSGLI also cited Prudential Insurance
Co. v. Mehlbrech, 878 F. Supp. 1382 (D. Or. 1995), to support jurisdiction under
§ 1975. Mehlbrech, however, was an interpleader action, id. at 1383, and
jurisdiction was therefore apparently proper under 28 U.S.C. § 1335. Mehlbrech
does not cite or discuss § 1975.
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In any event, we reject this position as inconsistent with the plain language
of § 1975. We therefore follow the majority of courts that look to some other
statutory basis for federal jurisdiction. See, e.g., Shannon v. United States, 417
F.2d 256, 263 (5th Cir. 1969) (discretionary pendant party jurisdiction); Melton v.
White, 848 F. Supp. 1511, 1512 (W.D. Okla. 1994) (federal question); Prudential
Ins. Co. of Am. v. Moorhead, 730 F. Supp. 727, 728 (M.D. La. 1989) (diversity
and federal question).
We see two other provisions that might support Plaintiff’s allegation of
federal jurisdiction. The first is 28 U.S.C. § 1332, the diversity jurisdiction
statute. “We examine the face of the complaint to determine whether a party has
adequately presented facts sufficient to establish diversity jurisdiction. The party
asserting jurisdiction must allege facts essential to show jurisdiction.” Gaines v.
Ski Apache, 8 F.3d 726, 729 (10th Cir. 1993). Thus, the complaint must allege
that the plaintiff and defendant are citizens of different states and that the amount
in controversy is greater than $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). A corporation is
treated as a citizen of the state where it is incorporated and the state where it has
its principal place of business. Id. § 1332(c).
Here, the complaint alleges that Plaintiff is a citizen of Oklahoma, but does
not set forth the citizenship of the OSGLI or the amount in controversy.
“[W]here the pleadings are inadequate, we may review the record to find evidence
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that diversity exists.” Gaines, 8 F.3d at 729. We have reviewed the record and
do not find that it establishes diversity jurisdiction.
The other potential basis for federal jurisdiction is 28 U.S.C. § 1331, the
federal question statute. This section confers jurisdiction over cases “arising
under” federal law. For a case to arise under federal law, the federal question
must be apparent on the face of a well-pleaded complaint, and Plaintiff’s cause of
action must be created by federal law or, if it is a state-law cause of action, its
resolution must necessarily turn on a substantial question of federal law, and that
federal law in turn must create a private cause of action. Merrell Dow Pharms. v.
Thompson, 478 U.S. 804, 808, 811-12 (1986); Erwin Chemerinsky, Federal
Jurisdiction 285 (3d ed. 1999).
For the purposes of this appeal, we need not determine whether Plaintiff
has asserted a cause of action under state or federal law. It is sufficient for us to
find that (1) the issues of mental capacity and undue influence are governed by
federal law; (2) these issues raise substantial questions of federal law that must be
resolved; and (3) the federal SGLI statute gives rise to an implied private cause of
action.
First, federal law governs the issues of mental capacity and undue influence
in this case. As the Seventh Circuit explained in a different context,
SGLI is a federal program; in fact, technically the government rather
than the serviceman is the policyholder. . . . As we have both a
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government contract and a federal statute . . . the case for using
federal law to answer the question of who is to receive the proceeds
of the insurance policy is compelling.
Often a court asked to fill a gap in a federal statute will do so
by borrowing a state’s common law . . . . But borrowing state law
would be a mistake in the case of soldiers’ life insurance policies.
Frequently . . . the policy is issued wherever the soldier happens to
be stationed when thoughts of mortality assail him. . . . It would be
arbitrary to subject issues arising under the policy to the law of a
particular state. Better that these policies should be governed by a
uniform set of rules untethered to any particular jurisdiction.
Congress’s desire for uniformity is reflected in the statute’s detailed
provision . . . regarding who shall receive the proceeds if a
beneficiary is not named.
Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Athmer, 178 F.3d 473, 475 (7th Cir. 1999) (citations
omitted); accord Prudential Ins. Co. v. Tull, 690 F.2d 848, 849 (4th Cir. 1982)
(per curiam). We note also that the SLGI statute, 38 U.S.C. §§ 1965-1979,
preempts state law determining the right to a policy’s proceeds. Ridgway v.
Ridgway, 454 U.S. 46, 60 (1981); Prudential Ins. Co. v. King, 453 F.2d 925, 931
(8th Cir. 1971). Given these considerations, we believe federal law should
govern the issues of mental capacity and undue influence in this case. Accord
Prudential Ins. Co. of Am. v. Mehlbrech, 878 F. Supp. 1382, 1386 (D. Or. 1995). 2
But cf. Lyle v. Bentley, 406 F.2d 325, 328 (5th Cir. 1969) (applying Texas law on
the issue of undue influence without discussion of the choice-of-law issue);
2
Although the Mehlbrech court applied federal law to the issue of mental
capacity, it applied state law to the issue of undue influence, noting that the
parties agreed that state law controls. Id. at 1387. We believe federal law applies
equally to both issues.
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Roecker v. United States, 379 F.2d 400, 405, 408 (5th Cir. 1967) (finding that
state law governs the propriety of a guardian’s discharge of his duties leading to a
redesignation of a National Service Life Insurance policy’s beneficiary, but
emphasizing that the question was not the insured’s competence).
Second, to recover on the insurance policy, Plaintiff must prove she is the
beneficiary and to do so she must show that Decedent’s purported change was
ineffective, either because he lacked the capacity to do so or because he was
under undue influence at the time. These are substantial questions – indeed, the
only disputed issues in the case – on which the outcome of this lawsuit turn.
Third, there is an implied cause of action under the SGLI statute for
beneficiaries against the OSGLI. Parker v. OSGLI, 91 F. Supp. 2d 820, 824-25
(E.D. Pa. 2000). Whether a federal statute contains an implied cause of action is
ultimately a question of determining what Congress intended. Karahalios v. Nat’l
Fed’n of Fed. Employees, 489 U.S. 527, 532 (1989). Such congressional intent
can be implied by the text or structure of the statute. Alexander v. Sandoval, 121
S. Ct. 1511, 1520 (2001). Although the text of the SGLI statute is silent, we
believe its structure shows that Congress intended to allow private causes of
action to enforce the provisions of SGLI policies. The statute requires
beneficiaries to make “claim[s]” for payment under some circumstances, but
contains no mechanism (administrative or otherwise) to enforce the insurance
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contract. 38 U.S.C. § 1970(b), (c). In addition, the applicable regulations
contemplate that beneficiaries may bring “[a]ctions at law or in equity to recover”
from the OSGLI. 38 C.F.R. § 9.13. Further, “the interpretation and
administration of an insurance policy issued under the authority of the
servicemen’s insurance statute . . . [is] supplied by federal common law.”
Athmer, 178 F.3d at 475. Although none of this refers explicitly to a federal
forum, it would be somewhat anomalous for Congress to rely completely on state
causes of action when, as explained above, federal law governs most aspects of
the insurance policy and preempts inconsistent state law, and when the federal
government has important interests at stake. For these reasons, we find that the
SGLI statute contains an implied private cause of action.
Because this case involves substantial federal questions, the federal courts
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. We exercise jurisdiction over this
appeal under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
II. Mental Capacity
The district court instructed the jury that “the law presumes that Ronald
Rice, the deceased, had the mental capacity to change the policy beneficiary to his
mother.” The instructions also stated that this presumption could be “outweighed
by evidence to the contrary” and that Plaintiff had to establish Decedent’s lack of
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mental capacity “by the greater weight of the evidence.” Plaintiff raises two
objections to the presumption instruction: first, that there is no general
presumption of mental capacity to change one’s beneficiary; and second, that the
presumption was rebutted and should not have been included in the jury
instructions. Only the first of these objections was raised below.
A. Presumption of Mental Capacity Under Federal Law
We review de novo legal objections to the jury instructions, reading the
instructions as a whole. Medlock v. Ortho Biotech, 164 F.3d 545, 552 (10th Cir.
1999). The instructions need not be flawless. Id. “[N]o particular form of words
is essential if the instruction as a whole conveys the correct statement of the
applicable law.” Webb v. ABF Freight Sys., 155 F.3d 1230, 1248 (10th Cir.
1998).
The question of mental capacity is not addressed in the SGLI Act.
[W]hen a question relating to the interpretation and administration of
an insurance policy issued under the authority of the servicemen’s
insurance statute arises that is not answered by the statute itself . . .
the answer is to be supplied by federal common law. Since the
concept of ‘federal common law’ is nebulous when a statute is in the
picture, it might be better to jettison the concept in that context and
say simply that in filling gaps left by Congress in a federal program
the courts seek to effectuate federal policies.
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Athmer, 178 F.3d at 475 (citations omitted). We must therefore fashion
appropriate rules on the requisite mental capacity to change one’s insurance
beneficiary.
We have not previously addressed this precise issue. In Wiley v. United
States, 399 F.2d 844, 846 (10th Cir. 1968), we recognized a presumption in favor
of mental capacity when the insured had been declared competent by the Veterans
Administration and a state court. Here, however, Decedent was never declared
competent (or incompetent) by any court or agency.
Nonetheless, under these circumstances, we find no reversible error in the
district court’s instruction. Most important, the presumption of mental capacity
tracks Plaintiff’s burden of proof on the issue. Plaintiff took no objection to the
court’s instruction on the burden of proof, and reading the instructions together,
we believe they stated the law correctly.
Our holding is supported by other courts that have noted a federal
presumption of mental capacity in the insurance context. See, e.g., Howells State
Bank v. Novotny, 69 F.2d 32, 34 (8th Cir. 1934) (noting “a presumption of mental
capacity” to assign one’s life insurance policy); Metro. Life Ins. Co. v. Anderson,
101 F. Supp. 808, 811 (E.D. La. 1951) (noting the “legal presumption of mental
capacity” to change one’s insurance beneficiary); cf. 3 Couch on Insurance § 40:2
(3d ed. 2000) (“The fact that a policy was issued raises the presumption that the
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insured was of sound mind at the time the contract was entered into, and clear
proof is required to establish that he or she lacked sufficient capacity.” (footnotes
omitted)). We also draw support from the Department of Veterans Affairs, which
in administrative proceedings involving the validity of a change in beneficiary
applies a “general but rebuttable presumption that every testator possesses
testamentary capacity.” 38 C.F.R. § 3.355(c).
State law also supports the district court’s instruction. See, e.g.,
Commercial Union Ins. Co. v. Schmidt, 967 F.2d 270, 272 (8th Cir. 1992)
(applying Minnesota law); Lynn v. Magness, 62 A.2d 604, 607 (Md. 1949)
(stating that “the law presumes every man to be sane and to possess the requisite
mental capacity” to change his beneficiary); Matthews v. Acacia Mut. Life Ins.
Co., 392 P.2d 369, 373 (Okla. 1964) (“The law presumes every person sane, and
casts the burden of establishing insanity on the one asserting its existence.”);
Estate of Galland v. Rosenberg, 630 S.W.2d 294, 297 (Tex. App. 1981) (“A
presumption . . . exists that the decedent possessed the requisite mental capacity
to make his designation.”). Finally, the instruction is consistent with our
jurisprudence in other areas of the law. For example, under federal law, “the
capacity of a person offered as a witness is presumed, and in order to exclude a
witness on the ground of mental incapacity, the existence of the incapacity must
be made to appear.” United States v. Haro, 573 F.2d 661, 667 (10th Cir. 1978).
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In sum, the district court correctly found that federal law generally
presumes a person’s mental capacity in this context.
B. Instructing the Jury on Presumptions
Because Plaintiff did not raise this objection below, we review the
challenged instruction only to see whether it is “patently plainly erroneous and
prejudicial.” Zimmerman v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass’n, 848 F.2d 1047, 1054
(10th Cir. 1988); cf. Fed. R. Civ. P. 51 (“No party may assign as error the giving
or the failure to give an instruction unless that party objects thereto before the
jury retires to consider its verdict, stating distinctly the matter objected to and the
grounds of the objection.” (emphasis added)). “Only rarely will we reverse based
on allegedly erroneous instructions to which there was no objection at trial; the
party claiming plain error has the heavy burden of demonstrating fundamental
injustice.” Medlock v. Ortho Biotech, Inc., 164 F.3d 545, 553 (10th Cir. 1999)
(quotation marks omitted).
The full text of the challenged instruction is as follows:
Presumptions are rules based upon experience or public policy
and are established in the law to assist a jury in discovering the truth.
Presumptions take the place of evidence unless and until outweighed
by evidence to the contrary.
In this case, the law presumes that Ronald Rice, the deceased,
had the mental capacity to change the policy beneficiary to his
mother.
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The next instruction, to which no objection has been taken, stated:
In this action, where plaintiff, Cindy Rice, alleges that Ronald
Rice, the insured, lacked the mental capacity to change the
beneficiary to his policy from his wife to his mother, plaintiff has the
burden of establishing by the greater weight of the evidence that on
the date Ronald Rice executed the change of beneficiary form,
Ronald Rice lacked the requisite mental capacity.
Plaintiff argues that it was incorrect under Federal Rule of Evidence 301
for the court to give the first of these instructions to the jury in this case. Rule
301 states that a presumption imposes a burden of production, but does not shift
the burden of proof. Plaintiff argues that Rule 301 incorporates the “bursting
bubble” theory of presumptions. Under this approach, once she met her burden of
production the presumption would drop out of the picture entirely, and therefore it
would have been inappropriate to mention the presumption in the jury
instructions. However, the advisory committee notes reject the notion that the
presumptions authorized by Rule 301 would simply disappear when contrary
evidence is introduced. See Fed. R. Evid. 301 advisory committee notes, 1972
Proposed Rules. While there is conflicting authority, see, e.g., Bratton v. Yoder
Co. (In re Yoder Co.), 758 F.2d 1114, 1119-20 (6th Cir. 1985), we cannot say that
the jury instruction amounted to plain error.
In any event, in this case Plaintiff bore the burden of proof on the issue of
mental capacity even absent the presumption. Moreover, the instruction made it
clear that the presumption could be overcome by a preponderance of the evidence.
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There is sufficient authority that a presumption instruction that tracks the burden
of proof as in this case is not reversible error. See, e.g., Lewis v. Owen, 395 F.2d
537, 542 (10th Cir. 1968); Dostal v. Balt. & Ohio R.R. Co., 189 F.2d 352, 355-56
(3d Cir. 1951); cf. Brown v. Henderson, 189 N.E. 41, 43 (Mass. 1934) (Lummus,
J., concurring in the result) (“The statutory presumption . . . is wholly
overshadowed by that burden of proof, and can have no practical effect. . . . [It]
is like a handkerchief thrown over something also covered by a blanket. For this
reason, if the burden of proof is correctly stated to the jury, there can be no
reversible error in dealing with the presumption . . . .”). Whether or not the
district court was correct to instruct the jury on the presumption of mental
capacity in this case, the instructions as a whole were not “patently plainly
erroneous and prejudicial.” Zimmerman, 848 F.2d at 1054.
III. Undue Influence
Plaintiff argues that the district court erred in granting OSGLI summary
judgment on the issue of undue influence. We review a grant of summary
judgment de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the
nonmoving party. Simms v. Okla. ex rel. Dep’t of Mental Health & Substance
Abuse Servs., 165 F.3d 1321, 1326 (10th Cir. 1999). To defeat a motion for
summary judgment, the nonmoving party must show specific evidence that creates
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a genuine issue as to a material fact. Id. “The mere existence of a scintilla of
evidence in support of the nonmovant’s position is insufficient to create a dispute
of fact that is genuine; an issue of material fact is genuine only if the nonmovant
presents facts such that a reasonable jury could find in favor of the nonmovant.”
Id. We assume for the purposes of this case that we may consider the evidence
adduced at trial, because Plaintiff sought to have the issue submitted to the jury.
Cf. Anixter v. Home-Stake Prod. Co., 977 F.2d 1533, 1548 (10th Cir. 1992)
(noting that a partial grant of summary judgment is not a final order and is subject
to reconsideration at trial). But cf. Guillory v. Dotmar Indus., 95 F.3d 1320, 1327
(5th Cir. 1996) (“We cannot consider facts and evidence uncovered during trial
when assessing the propriety of the summary judgment.”).
As with the issue of mental capacity, undue influence is not discussed in
the SGLI statute. We must therefore apply gap-filling federal law to this issue.
Athmer, 178 F.3d at 475. In the ERISA context, the Sixth Circuit recently
reviewed the law of various states and fashioned a federal-common-law rule
governing when undue influence invalidates a change of beneficiary. Tinsley v.
Gen. Motors Corp., 227 F.3d 700, 704 (6th Cir. 2000).
[U]ndue influence is generally defined as influence that is sufficient
to overpower volition, destroy free agency, and impel the grantor to
act against the grantor’s inclination and free will. A showing of
mere motive or opportunity to exert excessive control over another is
not enough to make out a claim of undue influence; rather, the
influence must actually be exerted, either prior to or at the time of
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the execution of the relevant document. Courts have looked at a
number of factors to determine whether undue influence has been
exerted in a given case, including the physical and mental condition
of the benefactor; whether the benefactor was given any disinterested
advice with respect to the disputed transaction; the “unnaturalness”
of the gift; the beneficiary’s role in procuring the benefit and the
beneficiary’s possession of the document conferring the benefit;
coercive or threatening acts on the part of the beneficiary, including
efforts to restrict contact between the benefactor and his relatives;
control of the benefactor’s financial affairs by the beneficiary; and
the nature and length of the relationship between the beneficiary and
the benefactor.
Id. at 704-05 (citations and quotation marks omitted).
Applying this test, we hold that Plaintiff has not presented enough evidence
for a jury to find that Evans exercised undue influence on Decedent. There was
evidence that Decedent’s mental condition was poor, and he certainly had a long
relationship with his mother, but none of the other factors support a finding of
undue influence. Plaintiff relies most heavily on Evans’s increased number of
telephone conversations with Decedent in the weeks leading up to his change of
beneficiary, and in particular on the thirty-three minute conversation they had the
night before he did so. This at most shows opportunity, however, which is not
sufficient to prove undue influence. There was no evidence that Evans and
Decedent even discussed the change of beneficiary before it happened. While
Evans told Decedent that “it is a money thing” with Plaintiff – that Plaintiff
wanted him around only for his money – she made that comment in response to
Decedent’s complaints that Plaintiff would not let him leave, even though he
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wanted to move back to West Virginia. This comment does not create a genuine
issue as to her role in inducing the change of beneficiary.
On this record, no reasonable jury could have concluded that Evans exerted
undue influence over Decedent to cause him to make her the beneficiary of his
SGLI policy. The district court correctly granted summary judgment to the
OSGLI.
IV. Judgment as a Matter of Law
Plaintiff argues that she was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on the
issue of mental capacity. We review de novo the district court’s denial of a
motion for judgment as a matter of law. Baty v. Willamette Indus., Inc., 172 F.3d
1232, 1241 (10th Cir. 1999). Such a judgment should be granted only if, viewing
the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, “the evidence
points but one way.” Id. We do not weigh the evidence or pass on the credibility
of witnesses. Id.
Viewed in this light, the evidence was sufficient to conclude that Decedent
had the mental capacity to change the beneficiary of his insurance policy. He was
able to fill out the change-of-beneficiary and other military forms. The officer
who helped Decedent fill out these forms testified that Decedent appeared to
understand what he was doing. He did not appear to be confused. During this
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period, Decedent was performing his work in the Army Reserves adequately. He
was also writing some checks. Decedent’s physician concluded that in April
1998, he had “no direct evidence from [his] conversations with Mr. Rice to
suggest that he was mentally incompetent to handle his own affairs.”
Plaintiff bore the burden of proving Decedent’s mental incapacity. In the
light of the above facts, a reasonable jury could have ruled against her. We
therefore affirm the district court’s denial of judgment as a matter of law.
CONCLUSION
We AFFIRM the district court on all issues.
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