Koehler et al v. Snyder et al

Filing 33

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion for appointment of next friend for plaintiffs I.S., G.S., and L.S. is GRANTED, and Ms. Patricia Koehler is appointed as next friend for I.S., G.S., and L.S. [Doc. 2] Signed by District Judge Charles A. Shaw on 8/23/2013. (NCL)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION

PATRICIA KOEHLER, as Next Friend of
I.S., et al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
JOAN SNYDER, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 4:13-CV-836 CAS

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Pending before the Court is Patricia Koehler’s motion for appointment as next friend for the
minor children I.S., G.S., and L.S., who are plaintiffs in this matter. Joan K. Snyder, the mother of
the minor children, is a defendant in this action. Defendant Snyder opposes the motion stating that
Ms. Koehler seeks appointment as next friend out of personal spite. Defendant Anheuser-Bush
Companies, LLC (“AB”) has no opposition to the motion for appointment as next friend. For the
following reasons, the motion will be granted.
Background
The above-captioned case involves a dispute over who are the proper beneficiaries to a
pension plan, which is covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”).
Decedent John Snyder worked for AB for many years and had acquired benefits under one of its
pension plans. Mr. Snyder was married to defendant Joan Snyder. Together they had seven
children, including the three minor children, I.S., G.S., and L.S. After his retirement from AB, the
Snyders’ marriage was dissolved by a Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage entered in state court
in July 2011. Sadly, Mr. Snyder died of cancer a year later.

Following his death, according to the complaint, AB determined that because of the divorce,
the Snyders’ children were the beneficiaries entitled to receive payments under the pension plan.
Defendant Snyder, however, contacted AB through counsel and stated that she was making a
competing claim to the benefits.
Patricia Koehler, who is Mr. Snyder’s surviving sister, filed this action on the minor
children’s behalf. She seeks to enforce their right to payment of their late father’s pension benefits
from the AB plan. In support of her motion for appointment as next friend, she states, and no one
disputes, that she is the Trustee of the John D. Snyder Revocable Trust, of which the minor children
and their siblings are the beneficiaries. She also maintains, and no one disputes, that she is
designated in Mr. Snyder’s Last Will and Testament as the Personal Representative of the Estate of
John D. Snyder.
Defendant Snyder opposes Ms. Koehler’s motion on the basis that the divorce was highly
contested and emotional and since the time of the divorce Ms. Koehler has borne her ill will. She
states that she believes Ms. Koehler has petitioned the Court for the appointment of next friend out
of vindictiveness.
Discussion
Federal Rule 17(c) provides for the appointment of a next friend or guardian ad litem to
protect the interests of a minor party to litigation. The Rule provides:
Infants or Incompetent Persons. Whenever an infant or incompetent person has
a representative, such as a general guardian, committee, conservator, or other like
fiduciary, the representative may sue or defend on behalf of the infant or incompetent
person. An infant or incompetent person who does not have a duly appointed
representative may sue by a next friend or by a guardian ad litem. The court shall
appoint a guardian ad litem for an infant or incompetent person not otherwise
represented in an action or shall make such other order as it deems proper for the
protection of the infant or incompetent person.
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Fed. R. Civ. P. 17(c).
I.S., G.S., and L.S. are minor children, and they cannot appear in this Court or prosecute this
case on their own behalf. No one has suggested that they have “a representative,” such as “a general
guardian, committee, conservator, or other like fiduciary.” Id. Defendant Snyder is their mother,
but in this matter her interests are adverse to those of her children. Therefore, to protect the minor
children’s interests in this litigation, the Court must appoint a next friend.
The Court must now determine whether Ms. Koehler is the appropriate person to appoint as
next friend. In Whitmore v. Arkansas, 495 U.S. 149, 163-64 (1990), the Supreme Court identified
two “firmly rooted” prerequisites for standing as a next friend. First, the next friend must provide
an explanation as to why the real party in interest cannot appear on his own behalf. This prerequisite
has been met in this action. Second, the next friend must be truly dedicated to the best interests of
the person on whose behalf she seeks to litigate. The majority of courts have held that the next
friend must have some significant relationship with the real party in interest. See Whitmore, 495
U.S. at 163-64; Carson P. v. Heineman, 240 F.R.D. 450, 516 (D. Neb. 2007) (surveying federal law).
It is undisputed that Ms. Koehler has a significant relationship with I.S., G.S., and L.S. She
is their aunt and the person their father chose to appoint as the trustee of his trust and as the personal
representative of his estate. Defendant Snyder opposes the appointment because she claims, without
evidentiary support or explanation, that Ms. Koehler bears her ill will since the divorce and that she
is motivated by spite, not the interests of the children. Divorce by its definition breaks up a family,
and there is often animosity between the “sides.” However, as pointed out by Ms. Koehler, she is
not seeking personal gain from this litigation, but rather she wishes to have the minor children’s

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claim to the pension benefits heard and adjudicated. Furthermore, no party has suggested an
alterative person who is able and willing to act as a next friend for the minor children.
After having carefully considered the issue, the Court finds Patricia Koehler is the
appropriate person to act as next friend for I.S., G.S., and L.S. in this matter, as she has a significant
relationship with the minor children and appears to be dedicated to their best interests.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the motion for appointment of next friend for plaintiffs
I.S., G.S., and L.S. is GRANTED, and Ms. Patricia Koehler is appointed as next friend for I.S.,
G.S., and L.S. [Doc. 2]

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CHARLES A. SHAW
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Dated this 23rd day of August, 2013.

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