MetLife - Lawsuits

  • 1990s
  • 2000s
  • 2010s

1990s 

  • 1993 - LC - Horton v. Metropolitan Life (def. Rick Urso) - Document 1 - Filed 11/01/93 - Complaint - 37p
    • 8:93-cv-01849-SDM
    • Date filed: 11/01/1993, Date terminated: 10/25/1994, Date of last filing: 06/23/2011
    • Document 1 - Filed 11/01/93 - Complaint - 37p
  • 1994 - NAIC - Special Committee on Metropolitan Life
  • 1994 0528 and 0929 - GOV (House) - Deceptive Practices in the Sale of Life Insurance - [PDF-69p-GooglePlay, VIDEO-?]
  • 1996 - SOA - Legal Issues Affecting Nontraditional Products, Society of Actuaries - 14p
    • Thomas Tew
  • 1996 - LC - In Re Metropolitan Life Derivative Litigation
  • 1996 - MDL No. 1091 - "Metro. Life Ins. Co. Sales Practices Litig."
    • No. 96-179, 2011 U.S. Dist. (W.D. Pa. Nov. 10, 2011).
    • Case 2:96-mc-00179-DWA
    • FINAL ORDER APPROVING CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT -
      • 1999 - 19p
      • MISC. DOCKET NO. 96-179
        • Amodeo - No. 96-0759
          • 2:96-cv-00759-DWA-KJB
          • Pacer
            • Amodeo v. Metropolitan Life, et al 4:1996cv80168 Iowa Southern District Court 03/04/1996 04/16/1996
            • Charles V. Amodeo v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., et al. 4:1996cv80168 Judicial Panel On Multidistrict Litigati 03/27/1996
        • Biggs - No. 96-0038
        • Caskey - No. 95-1426
        • Garrett - No. 96-0436
        • Oddi - No.96-0051
  • 1996 - Richard Sabo
    1. Richard Sabo v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
      • Court of Appeals,Third Circuit, No. 96-3663., Decided: February 23, 1998
      • 2:96-mc-00179
      • Pacer - Yes
    2. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Sabo
      • C. A. 3d Cir., US Supreme Court - No. 98–2. 
      • Motion of American Council of Life Insurance for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae granted. Certiorari denied. Reported below: 137 F. 3d 185.- supremecourt.gov/opinions/boundvolumes/525bv.pdf
  • 1997 - LC - James L. Rayl v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
    • No. 97-CV-505-H
    • 05/27/1997 - 02/01/1999
    • (N.D. Okla)
  • 1994-1, NAIC Proceedings - 1994 0120 - NAIC - Attachment Seven-A1a - (EX) Special Committee on Metropolitan Life 
    • He added that documents indicated the Tampa sales office had knowledge of the unlawful sales practices of its agents.
    • Mr. Kummer stated the depositions scheduled for February would help clarify the possibility that Metropolitan management may also have known about the improper practices.
    • Brian Olson (Calif.) questioned whether charges of mail fraud were being considered in the investigation of the Urso office in Tampa.
    • Mr. Kummer responded that he was not aware that anyone had yet considered mail fraud.
      • He stated that he would ask those involved in the Florida investigation to follow up on that possibility.
  • In 1990, the Tampa office of MetLife began a nationwide mailing campaign that promoted whole life insurance policies as "retirement savings plans."
    • The Tampa letters failed to identify the product being sold as an insurance policy and the sales persons sending the letters did not identify themselves as insurance agents or insurance representatives.
    • It is estimated that during the period 1990 through 1993 MetLife agents knowingly misled over 60,000 consumers, many of them nurses, into buying insurance policies disguised as retirement plans. (p1)

1994 0528 and 0929 - GOV (House) - Deceptive Practices in the Sale of Life Insurance - [PDF-69p-GooglePlay, VIDEO-?]

  • Now, the question is, how did all this happen?
    • It used to be in the state of Florida, for instance, that you might have a market conduct investigation, and some agent usually took the fall.
    • That was the classic example.
    • The company would throw him to the wolves, and the agent would get a rap on his or her record.
  • What happened? - We have to start with the Met Life case.
    • I was sitting in my office, and the insurance commissioner at that time, Tom Gallagher, called me from the chairman's office of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.
    • He asked me to do a 30-day investigation of a market conduct problem over in Tampa.

--  Thomas Tew

1996 - SOA - Legal Issues Affecting Nontraditional Products, Society of Actuaries - 14p

2000s

  • 2000 - LC - In re Metlife Demutualization Litigation
    • Court: United States District Court, E.D. New York
    • Date published: Feb 12, 2010
    • Citations - 00 CV 2258 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 12, 2010)
    • This case and a related case in New York Supreme Court, Fiala v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., Index No. 601181/2000, are class actions arising out of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company's ("MetLife") demutualization — its conversion from a mutual insurance company to a stock corporation
  • 2001 - LC - Solarchick vs. Metropolitan Life
    • 2:2001cv00444
    • Pennsylvania Western District Court
    • 03/07/2001 - 07/11/2006
    • Pacer- Yes
    • Document 155  - Filed 05/10/06 - MEMORANDUM OPINION and ORDER OF COURT - 4p
      • 1 The Florida Report is attached as Exhibit A to Defendant’s Motion in Limine. Plaintiffs list the Pennsylvania Report as Exhibit 25 in their revised exhibit list dated April 26, 2006. See Docket No. 64.
      • 2 Although Plaintiffs allege in their Complaint that they were sold their policies in connection with an investment plan, Defendant correctly notes that Plaintiffs admitted during their depositions that they knew they were buying life insurance. See Docket No. 68, Exs. B, C. In addition, the Florida Report does not appear to discuss any of the sales materials used in this case.
  • 2001 - LC - Tran v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
  • 2001 - LC - Dornberger v. Metropolitan Life Insurance,
    • casetext.com/case/dornberger-v-metropolitan-life-insurance-company
    • 203 F.R.D. 118, Oct. 5, 2001
    • United States District Court for the Southern District of New York 
    • No. 95 Civ. 10374(LBS), 203 F.R.D. 118
    • ⇒ Europe. Life Insurance
    • In short, MetLife, a New York-based insurance company, began to sell insurance policies in Europe in 1957.
    •  Plaintiff alleged that MetLife's European solicitations from 1957 to 1994 were in violation of the insurance laws of various European nations.
  • 2003 - LC - Half v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 65 Pa. D. & C.4th 246, 254-56 (Ct. C. P. Allegheny Co. December 8, 2003). 
  • Missouri - In re: General American Life Insurance Company Sales Practices Litigation.
    • Appellate Case: 03-3517 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/06/2004 Entry ID: 1841122 - 13p
      • No. 03-3510 - Charles Kenneth Knouse
      • No. 03-3516 - Patricia S. Palashoff 
      • One Pennsylvania trial court has stated that, at least in the case of a noncommercial insured who is unsophisticated with regard to insurance policies, reasonable diligence entails a cursory examination of the cover page of the policy. See Half v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., 65 Pa. D. & C.4th 246, 254-56 (Ct. C. P. Allegheny Co. December 8, 2003).
        • If this is indeed true, there is nothing on the cover pages of any of the policies at issue here that would inexorably lead to a conclusion that plaintiffs (non-commercial, unsophisticated insureds) should have known that the vanishing premium concept allegedly explained to them would not occur as represented.
        • Each cover page states only that plaintiffs had a right to examine each policy and that flexible premiums were “payable” until each insured reached a certain age. See Appellants’ Consolidated App. at 73a-74a (Palashoff), 130a-131a (Palashoff), 610a (Knouse), 647a (Knouse), 686a (Knouse), 1120a (Brown), 1153a (Brown).
        • These provisions could be read by a reasonable unsophisticated insured as being completely consistent with the agents’ alleged representations that the premiums paid by plaintiffs for a limited time, in combination with policy interest and dividends paid, would be sufficient to cover future premiums. 
  • 2005 0708 - LC - In Re: Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Sales Practice Litigation - 04-2829 - Opinion - 3p
    • United States Court of Appeals - Third Circuit
    • Sabo,
      • On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania - (D.C. No. 96-mc-00179) - District Judge: The Honorable Donetta W. Ambrose
  • 2005 0408 - LC - Horton, et al v. Metropolitan Life, et al, Deposition of Darrin Johns ("Johns Dep.") (attached as Ex L), at 5:10- 6:23. case Document 382-1. 8:93-cv-01849, Filed 08/31/2006 Page 12 of 29 - Document 382-13
  • 2006 - LC - Bonk vs RICHARD WEZNER, JOHN HANCOCK MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE CO. and METLlFE, INC.
    • 1:06-cv-00285-GMS-MPT Document 173 - 6p
      • negligent supervision claim
  • Q: Let me finish the question. Were you living at your current residence at the time that you purchased the life insurance policy from MetLife?
    • A: I didn't purchase a life insurance policy.
  • Q: So you are saying you purchased a what?
    • A: A retirement plan.
  • Q: A retirement plan, all right.  Now do you recognize that it was a life insurance policy?
    • A: At this time, yes. With the litigation.
  • Q: When did vou realize that?
    • A: When received a letter from the State of Florida for there was a class action lawsuit.

2005 0408 - LC - Horton, et al v. Metropolitan Life, et al, Deposition of Darrin Johns ("Johns Dep.") (attached as Ex L), at 5:10- 6:23. case Document 382-1. 8:93-cv-01849, Filed 08/31/2006 Page 12 of 29 - Document 382-13

2010s

  • - LC - MetLife vs. FSOC (Financial Stability Oversight Council) 
  • 2017 - LC - Newman v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. -  240 F. Supp. 3d 761 (N.D. Ill. 2017) (citation omitted), rev'd and remanded on other grounds, 881 F.3d 987 (7th Cir. 2018), amended and superseded on reh'g, 885 F.3d 992 (7th Cir. 2018), and rev'd and remanded, 885 F.3d 992 (7th Cir. 2018), Case: 1:16-cv-03530
    • ⇒  MetLife offered long-term care insurance purchasers, including Newman, various non-standard premium payment options and riders that allowed insureds to “pay off [their] policy sooner and/or ease financial obligations down the road, when [they] might be on a fixed income.” [Doc. 22, Ex. A at 9]