Case Explained: JOHN KUTRUBIS and BETTY STOKES v. EUGENIA KAMBEROS

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Filed: 2026-07-29 The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of Betty Stokes and John Kutrubis, holding that they were entitled to life insurance proceeds as the designated beneficiaries. The court applied Illinois law, which requires only substantial compliance with policy procedures to change a beneficiary, and determined that Lambros J. Kutrubis had substantially complied by executing a change-of-beneficiary letter before witnesses and directing its mailing prior to his death, despite the insurer not receiving it until after his death. The court’s decision rested on three primary grounds. First, it upheld the district court’s procedural ruling that Eugenia Kamberos failed to comply with Local Rule 56.1 by not providing a numbered response to the movants’ statement of facts, resulting in those facts being deemed admitted. Second, the court rejected Kamberos’s credibility challenges and evidentiary objections, noting she provided no admissible evidence to contradict the affidavits of non-party witnesses and that an unsworn handwriting expert report was inadmissible. Third, regarding the Illinois Dead Man’s Act, the court found that while Betty Stokes was an interested party whose testimony was subject to scrutiny, her affidavit did not create a genuine dispute because other competent, admissible affidavits from independent witnesses sufficiently established Kutrubis’s intent and actions. The practical consequence is that the judgment for Stokes and Kutrubis stands, and they are entitled to the insurance proceeds. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.