Free Crossclaim - District Court of Connecticut - Connecticut

Case 3:00-cv-01910-EBB

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. $140,000.00 IN UNITED STATES CURRENCY SEIZED FROM ACCOUNT NO. 1215701749, HELD IN THE NAME OF ARTHUR F. GRANT, AT BANK OF AMERICA, ROLLING HILLS, CALIFORNIA, Defendant.

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Civil No. 3:00-cv-01910-EBB

RECEIVER-CLAIMANTS' JOINT CROSS-CLAIM AGAINST ARTHUR F. GRANT COMES NOW GEORGE DALE, Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Mississippi, in his official capacity as Receiver of Franklin Protective Life Insurance Company, Family Guaranty Life Insurance Company and First National Life Insurance Company of America; PAULA A. FLOWERS, Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance for the State of Tennessee, in her official capacity as Receiver of Franklin American Life Insurance Company; KIM HOLLAND, Insurance Commissioner for the State of Oklahoma, in her official capacity as Receiver of Farmers and Ranchers Life Insurance Company, in Liquidation; MIKE PICKENS, Insurance Commissioner for the State of Arkansas, in his official capacity as Receiver for Old Southwest Life Insurance Company and DOUGLAS M. OMMEN, Acting Director of the Department of Insurance for the State of Missouri, in his official capacity as Receiver of International Financial Services Life Insurance Company (collectively, the "ReceiverClaimants"), by and through counsel, asserting this Joint Cross-Claim against Arthur F. Grant, a

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Claimant in this proceeding to the Defendant Currency dentified as: "$140,000.00 in United i States Currency seized from Account No. 1215701749, held in the name of Arthur F. Grant, at Bank of America, Rolling Hills, California." CROSS-CLAIM FOR DECLARATORY JUDGMENT AGAINST CLAIMANT ARTHUR F. GRANT 1. The Receiver-Claimants each of them incorporates their previous Answers,

Affirmative Defenses, Claim In Rem and Counterclaim for Title and Possession as if fully set forth herein. 2. On October 31, 2000, Arthur F. Grant ("Grant") filed a Claim of Ownership

alleging tha t he is the owner of the Defendant Currency. 3. On November 30, 2000, Grant filed an Answer and Affirmative Defenses to the

United States' Verified Complaint of forfeiture. Jurisdiction and Venue 4. 5. The matter in controversy exceeds, exclusive of interest and costs, $75,000.00. The Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1332,

1345, 1355, and 1367. Claim for Declaratory Judgment 6. As described in Receiver-Claimants' Claims In Rem and Counterclaims, one or

more of the Insurance Companies represented by the Receiver-Claimants are the rightful owners of the Defendant Currency and should be awarded title to and possession of the Defendant Currency. 7. Grant has asserted in his Answer and Claim that he is the rightful owner of, and is

entitled to possession of, the Defendant Currency.

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8.

In fact, Grant has no right to or interest in the Defendant Property. Rather, one or

more of the Receiver-Claimants are the only parties with any ownership interest in the Defendant Currency. 9. Grant has acted with unclean hands in his dealings with one or more of the

Insurance Companies. 10. There exists an actual controversy between the Receiver-Claimants on the one

hand and Grant on the other as to which of them is entitled to the Defendant Currency, and each has demanded that the Defendant Currency be awarded to it. 11. Declaratory relief will resolve the dispute between the parties as to the ownership

of the Defendant Currency. WHEREFORE, the Receiver-Claimants respectfully pray that this Honorable Court enter its judgment declaring: (a) One or more of the Insurance Companies represented by the Receiver-

Claimants have full and unencumbered title to and interest in, and the sole right to possess, the Defendant Currency, and that full and unencumbered title to and possession of the Defendant Currency is awarded to one or more of the Receiver-Claimants; (b) Arthur F. Grant has no title to or interest in, or right to possess, the

Defendant Currency or any portion thereof; (c) and The Receiver-Claimants are entitled to recover their costs in this matter;

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(d)

to grant such other, further, and additional relief which the Court finds the

Receiver-Claimants to be entitled.

/s/ Douglas S. Skalka Douglas S. Skalka Fed. Bar No. 00616 Neubert, Pepe & Monteith, P.C. 195 Church Street, 13th Floor New Haven, Connecticut 06510-2026 Telephone: (203) 821-2000 Facsimile: (203) 821-2009 Of Counsel and Douglas J. Schmidt MO # 34266 Terrance M. Summers MO # 38319 Patrick A. McInerney MO # 37638 Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP 4801 Main, Suite 1000 Kansas City, Missouri 64112 Tel (816) 983-8000 Fax (816) 983-8080 Counsel for DOUGLAS M. OMMEN, Acting Director of the Department of Insurance for the State of Missouri, in his official capacity as Receiver of INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and Alan F. Curley C. Philip Curley Cynthia H. Hyndman ROBINSON CURLEY & CLAYTON, P.C. 300 South Wacker Drive, Suite 1700 Chicago, Illinois 60606 Ph (312) 663-3100 and

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Charles G. Copeland (MS Bar #6516) Rebecca Blunden (MS Bar #99611) COPELAND, COOK, TAYLOR & BUSH, P.A. P.O. Box 6020 Ridgeland, Mississippi 39158 Ph (601) 856-7200 Fx (601) 856-7626 Counsel for GEORGE DALE, Commissioner of Insurance for the State of Mississippi, in his official capacity as Receiver of FRANKLIN PROTECTIVE LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, FAMILY GUARANTY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, and FIRST NATIONAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA and Andrew B. Campbell (TN 14258, CT Fed. 21433) Graham Matherne, Esq. WYATT, TARRANT & COMBS, LLP 2525 West End Avenue, Suite 1500 Nashville, Tennessee 37203-1423 Ph (615) 244-0020 Fx (615) 251-6661 Counsel for PAULA A. FLOWERS, Commissioner of Commerce and Insurance for the State of Tennessee, in her official capacity as Receiver of FRANKLIN AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and Susan B. Loving, Esq. LESTER, LOVING AND DAVIES 1701 South Kelly Edmond, Oklahoma 73013 Ph (405) 844-9900 Fx (405) 844-9958 Counsel for KIM HOLLAND, Insurance Commissioner for the State of Oklahoma, in her official capacity as Receiver of FARMERS AND RANCHERS LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY and

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Steve A. Uhrynowycz, Esq. Arkansas Insurance Department Liquidation Division 1023 W. Capitol Avenue, Suite 2 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-1904 Ph (501) 371-2776 Fx (501) 374-0101 Counsel for MIKE PICKENS, Insurance Commissioner for the State of Arkansas, in his official capacity as Receiver of OLD SOUTHWEST LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY Attorneys for Receiver-Claimants CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE The undersigned hereby certifies that a true and correct copy of the foregoing was delivered on the day of February, 2005, via United States mail, first-class postage prepaid, to: John A. Danaher, III United States Attorney John B. Hughes Assistant U. S. Attorney Chief, Civil Division David X. Sullivan Assistant United States Attorney P.O. Box 1824 New Haven, CT 06508 Attorneys for Plaintiff United States of America J. Stanley Sanders 2015 Wellington Road Los Angeles, CA 90016 Attorney for Arthur F. Grant

/s/ Douglas S. Skalka Douglas S. Skalka (ct00616) Neubert, Pepe & Monteith, P.C.

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