U.S. Escapes Liability for Executive Life Annuity

As the last of the Executive Life cases seem to be winding their way through the court system, the U.S. government escaped liability in Nutt et al v. United States, No. 14-CV-282, 2015 WL 3525191 (Fed. Cl. June 4, 2015)  for a contract it purchased in settlement of a wrongful death claim in 1983, where a man was killed by an intoxicated Army employee driving an Army vehicle. Distinguishing what appeared to be strong precedent for holding the U.S. liable for its obligations under the annuity contract it purchased from Executive Life, the U.S. Federal Court of Claims found that the Massie case did not apply as that case involved the Military Claims Act, 10 U.S.C. Section 2731, et seq. rather than the Federal Claims Tort Act. Judge Braden also emphasized that the terms of the settlement language did not evidence the government’s intention to guarantee the annuity payments.