Secrets - Walker v LSW

(p182)

I mean, the law is not a secret....

2014 0425 – DOC 813 – Trial Transcript – Day 12 – Walker v LSW – 224p

  • (p17) - THE COURT:  It seems to me that it's really stretching the duty of the issuer to go into the individual tax situation on each investor, whereas, there is nothing secret about the tax laws.

2011 1402 - DOC 815 TRANSCRIPT for proceedings- Oral Arguments - 41p

(p89) - MR. SHAPIRO:  And sort of applying that principle here, you know, a Minnesota Life illustration is not a state secret --

2012 0320 - DOC 176 - Discovery Conference - TRANSCRIPT for proceedings - 131p

  • (p170) - Mr. Brosnahan said: Well, the fees can cause policies to lapse. Is that a secret?
    • I mean, fees cost something.
      • That's the point of fees.
      • If someone puts money into their policy, there will be fees, as they know, coming out of those policies.
    • If you don't put enough premiums into your policy, over time the fees will keep decreasing the value of the policy.
      • That's what fees do.
    • That's not a defect in the policy.
      • That's how policies work. 

2014 0425 – DOC 813 – Trial Transcript – Day 12 – Walker v LSW – 224p

(p153) - he = Dr. Patrick Brockett (Plaintiff Expert Witness"

  • And he identified the fact that sometimes when the market performs lower, the policy has less value.
  • Is that a secret, that sometimes when the market performs at a lower rate of return, the policy will have less value?

2014 0425 – DOC 813 – Trial Transcript – Day 12 – Walker v LSW – 224p

Matthew DeSantos - LSW’s Senior Vice-President of Distribution and Business Development (himself a former insurance agent) - DOC 792 p27>

(p97) - Interest Rates

  • A We know and your client should also be aware that over long periods of time, both interest rates and other factors change.
    • The illustration represents an estimate based upon what we know now, but actual results may be worse or better than those illustrated.
  • Q Is the fact that interest rates change over time a
    secret that LSW holds?
  • A No.

...

  • (p113) - tax-free retirement -
    • Q Are you at all concealing or concerned about the fact that the company offers as one of the features of the IUL product the fact that it could be used for tax-free retirement?
    • A No. All six companies I have worked at use the same approach to permanent life insurance and the tax advantage values and benefits that you're able to gain from it, you know, assuming things are structured the way to allow you to do that.

...

  • (p115) - Exhibit 835 - Marketing Brochure
    • Q And then the second paragraph says: In addition to a death benefit, indexed universal life insurance also offers the potential to build cash value on a tax-deferred basis which may be accessed income-tax free during your lifetime through withdrawals and loans. Is that what it says?
    • A Yes.
    • Q So is it fair to say it's no secret that the company markets this product for, among other things, the tax-free retirement potential?
    • A Yes.

2014 0423 – DOC 812 – Trial Transcript – Day 10 – Walker v LSW – 194p

  • (p183) - There's also individual claims with regard to policy fees.
    • Again, we intentionally failed to disclose fees that are on page 4 of our policies.
      • -- That's their theory.
    • The question isn't whether the plaintiffs saw them.
      • The question is did we intentionally fail to disclose them.

2014 0425 – DOC 813 – Trial Transcript – Day 12 – Walker v LSW – 224p