Thrivent Financial For Lutherans v. Moomaw as Co-Trustee of the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated December 1, 1997 et al

Filing 41

ORDER granting 37 Motion for Summary Judgment. See Order for details. Signed by Judge David R. Herndon on 7/5/17. (lmp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR
LUTHERANS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
JANICE K. MOOMAW and LISA J.
KENNELL, as Co-Trustees of the Donald
D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated
December 1, 1997;
JANICE K. MOOMAW and LISA J.
KENNELL, as Co-Trustees of the Donald
D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated
December 3, 1997; and

No.

16-cv-01176-DRH-DGW

JANICE K. MOOMAW and LISA J.
KENNELL, as Co-Trustees of the Donald
D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated
January 4, 2001,
Defendants.

ORDER
HERNDON, District Judge:
Pending before the Court is defendants’ Janice K. Moomaw and Lisa J.
Kennell, as Co-Trustees of the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated
December 3, 1997 unopposed motion for summary judgment against plaintiff
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (Doc. 37). For the reasons explained below, the
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motion is granted.
On October 25, 2016, plaintiff filed a complaint for interpleader against the
defendants in order to ensure that death benefits would be paid to the correct
beneficiary (Doc. 1). According to the complaint, upon Donald D. Ruff’s death,
Thrivent owed a death benefit in excess of $1,047,710.70 to the lawfully-entitled
beneficiary of the Contract, but there was a discrepancy as to who was the proper
beneficiary. On December 5, 2016, Janice K Moomaw, as Co-Trustee of the Donald
D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated December 3, 1997 and Lisa J Kennell, as
Co-Trustee of the Doanld D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated December 3, 1997
filed their answer to the complaint (Doc. 9).
On February 9, 2017, Plaintiff was released and discharged from any and all
liability to the defendants and their heirs, assigns, and beneficiaries relating in any
way to the Contract. Default judgment was also entered pursuant to Federal Rule of
Civil Procedure 55(b) against Defendants Janice K. Moomaw and Lisa J. Kennell,
as Co-Trustees of the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated December 1,
1997, and Defendants Janice K. Moomaw and Lisa J. Kennell, as Co-Trustees of
the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated January 4, 2001, the remaining
two trusts named as defendants to this action. Thereafter defendants Janice K.
Moomaw and Lisa J. Kennell, as Co-Trustees of the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable
Trust No. 1 Dated December 3, 1997, filed their motion for summary judgment
against plaintiff Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (Doc. 37).
As of this date, plaintiff has not responded to the motion for summary
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judgment. 1 Thus, pursuant to Local Rule 7.1(c), the Court considers this failure
an admission of the merits of the motion. The Seventh Circuit has also consistently
held that a nonmovant’s failure to respond, as mandated by local rule, results is an
admission. Smith v. Lamz, 321 F.3d 680, 683 (7th Cir. 2003). See also Chelios v.

Heavener, 520 F.3d 678, 687 (7th Cir. 2008) (“[L]ocal rules streamline litigation
and save litigants, lawyers and courts time and money.”). Summary judgment,
however, is never automatic: it may only be granted when the undisputed material
facts warrant judgment as a matter of law. Carroll v. Lynch, 698 F.3d 561, 564 (7th
Cir. 2012). When a party fails to address an assertion of fact at summary judgment,
the court may “consider the fact undisputed for the purposes of the motion.” FED.
R. CIV. P. 56(e)(2). And those undisputed facts can form the basis of a summary
judgment ruling. Frey Corp. v. City of Peoria, Ill., 735 F.3d 505, 513 (7th Cir. 2013)
(“[T]he district court was right to rely on [the movant’s] statement of undisputed
material facts in its [summary judgment] analysis.”).
Upon review of defendant’s motion, the pleadings, and exhibits in this case,
the Court finds summary judgment to be appropriate. Defendants maintain that
there is no genuine issue of material fact in this matter, and the Court agrees. In an
affidavit attached to the motion for summary judgment, Dale F. Wolff, the attorney
for Donald D. Ruff and his wife, Melba M. Ruff, from September 24, 1997 until

1 Local Rule 7.1(c)(1) provides: “An adverse party in a civil case shall have 30 days after service of a
motion listed above to file a response.” Further, Local Rule 7.1(c) provides in part: “Failure to
timely file a response to a motion may, in the Court’s discretion, be considered an admission of the
merits of the motion.”

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their deaths, stated that he prepared all estate planning documents for the
aforementioned, and only one irrevocable trust was prepared for Donald D. Ruff
and Melba M. Ruff (Doc. 37, Ex. A). That one and only irrevocable trust was named
the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1, and it was signed on December 3, 1997
by Donald D. Ruff and Melba M. Ruff (Id.).Thus, there is no dispute as to who the
proper beneficiary is in this action.
Accordingly, the Court GRANTS defendants’ Janice K. Moomaw and Lisa J.
Kennell, as Co-Trustees of the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated
December 3, 1997 unopposed motion for summary judgment against plaintiff
Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (Doc. 37).The Clerk is directed to enter judgment
accordingly. As a consequence, the Donald D. Ruff Irrevocable Trust No. 1 Dated
December 3, 1997 is hereby deemed the only such valid life insurance trust relative
to the benefits on deposit with the Court.

Following entry of said judgment, the

Clerk is directed to release such funds to the co-trustees of said trust, Janice K.
Moomaw and Lisa J. Kennell, less the administrative registry fee, as directed by
their counsel of record.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Digitally signed by
Judge David R.
Herndon
Date: 2017.07.05
11:36:50 -05'00'

Signed this 5th day of July, 2017.

United States District Judge
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