The Estate of Stanton Vollman v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Background

The Estate of Stanton Vollman, through Executrix Elena Portales, brought an action seeking a declaratory judgment. It asked the court to declare that the Executrix’s distribution of part of the estate to defendant Denise Gatto would not expose her to criminal liability under 18 U.S.C. § 209 or civil liability under 5 C.F.R. § 2365.201. The complaint relied on the Declaratory Judgment Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2201.

Jurisdiction

The court explained that the Declaratory Judgment Act allows a federal court to declare legal rights only in an actual controversy within the court’s jurisdiction; the Act does not independently create federal subject matter jurisdiction. The court also stated that the federal provisions cited by the estate do not provide subject matter jurisdiction. The estate therefore had to identify an independent basis for the federal court’s authority to hear the action.

The court discussed diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(1), which generally requires more than $75,000 in dispute and complete diversity of citizenship between opposing parties. It also explained that, for diversity purposes, the citizenship of the deceased—not the executor—is the relevant citizenship for an estate.

Order

The court concluded that the complaint did not adequately allege subject matter jurisdiction. It ordered the plaintiff to amend the complaint within 30 days to properly plead jurisdiction. The action will be dismissed if the plaintiff does not do so. The order did not decide whether the estate distribution would subject Elena Portales to criminal or civil liability.