United States District Court, N.D. Alabama, Southern Division
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
VIRGINIA EMERSON HOPKINS SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This is
a civil action initiated by Plaintiff Barry Taul, ex rel.,
United States of America, against Defendants Nagel
Enterprises, Inc., and Jed Nagel. However, on October 21,
2018, Mr. Nagel died. (See doc. 233-1 at 1) (see
also doc. 225-1 at 2-3). Mr. Nagel died intestate, and,
at the time of his death, he was domiciled in Michigan.
(See doc. 233-2 at 3). On November 27, 2018, a
Michigan probate court appointed one of his daughters, Laura
E. Nagel, as the personal representative for his Estate.
(Id.)
Before
the Court are four motions: (1) Plaintiff's Motion To
Substitute Party Defendant and Appoint Administrator Ad Litem
(doc. 226) (the “Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad
Litem”) filed on November 5, 2018; (2) Plaintiff's
Supplemental Motion To Substitute Party Defendant and Appoint
Administrator Ad Litem (doc. 230) (the “Supplemental
Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad Litem”) filed on
December 3, 2018; (3) Laura E. Nagel's Motion for
Substitution (doc. 233) filed on December 19, 2018; and (4)
Plaintiff's Renewed Motion To Substitute Party Defendant
and Appoint Administrator Ad Litem (doc. 234) (the
“Renewed Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad
Litem”) filed on December 20, 2018.
Because
Plaintiff filed his Renewed Motion To Appoint Administrator
Ad Litem, which includes the arguments he made in his
previous two motions, his Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad
Litem and his Supplemental Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad
Litem are DENIED AS MOOT.[1]
This
leaves two motions for the Court to rule on: Ms. Nagel's
Motion for Substitution and Plaintiff's Renewed Motion To
Appoint Administrator Ad Litem.
In her
Motion for Substitution, Ms. Nagel requests that the Court,
pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(a)
“substitute[]” “Laura E. Nagel, as personal
representative of the Estate of Jed Nagel, . . . for [Mr.
Nagel].” (Doc. 233 at 2).[2]
In his
Renewed Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad Litem, Plaintiff
requests that the Court, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
Procedure 25(a) and Alabama Code § 43-2-250,
“substitut[e] [Mr. Nagel] with an administrator ad
litem as a party defendant.” (Doc. 234 at 5).
For the
reasons stated in this Opinion, Ms. Nagel's Motion for
Substitution is due to be GRANTED, and
Plaintiff's Renewed Motion To Appoint Administrator Ad
Litem is due to be DENIED.
I.
STANDARD
Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 25(a) provides in relevant part as
follows:
(a) Death.
(1) Substitution if the Claim Is Not
Extinguished. If a party dies and the claim is
not extinguished, the court may order substitution of the
proper party. A motion for substitution may be made by any
party or by the decedent's successor or representative.
If the motion is not made within 90 days after service of a
statement noting the death, the action by or against the
decedent must be dismissed.
. . .
(3) Service. A motion to
substitute, together with a notice of hearing, must be served
on the parties as provided in Rule 5 and on nonparties as
provided in Rule 4. A statement noting death must be served
in the same manner. Service may be made in any judicial
district.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(a)(1), (a)(3).
Alabama
Code § 43-2-250 provides as follows:
When, in any proceeding in any court, the estate of a
deceased person must be represented, and there is no executor
or administrator of such estate, or he is interested
adversely thereto, it shall be the duty of the court to
appoint an administrator ad litem of such estate for the
particular proceeding, without bond, whenever the facts
rendering such appointment necessary shall appear in the
record of such case or shall be made known to the court by
the affidavit of any person interested therein.
Ala.
Code § 43-2-250. In construing Alabama Code §
43-2-250, the Supreme Court of Alabama has noted its limited
application:
[T]he strict interpretation of § 43-2-250 admits of two,
and only two, circumstances where it is appropriate for a
court to appoint an administrator ad litem. The first is when
the estate of a deceased person must be represented and there
is no executor or administrator of such estate; the second is
when the estate of a deceased person must be represented and
the executor or administrator is interested adversely to the
estate.
Golden Gate Nat'l Senior Care, LLC v. Roser, 94
So.3d 365, 370 (Ala. 2012) (emphases omitted).
II.
ANALYSIS
The
Court notes that the disagreement between Plaintiff and Ms.
Nagel is about the “proper party” who should be
substituted as a party defendant. See Fed. R. Civ.
P. 25(a)(1). However, the Court will first address whether
the motions have met Rule 25(a)'s procedural
requirements. The Court will then address who should be
substituted for Mr. Nagel as a party defendant.
A.
Rule 25(a)'s Procedural ...