Bullard v. Guardian Life Ins. of America

941 So. 2d 812, 2006 Miss. LEXIS 634, 2006 WL 3094125
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedNovember 2, 2006
Docket2005-CA-00849-SCT
StatusPublished
Cited by57 cases

This text of 941 So. 2d 812 (Bullard v. Guardian Life Ins. of America) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bullard v. Guardian Life Ins. of America, 941 So. 2d 812, 2006 Miss. LEXIS 634, 2006 WL 3094125 (Mich. 2006).

Opinion

941 So.2d 812 (2006)

Terry L. BULLARD
v.
The GUARDIAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA.

No. 2005-CA-00849-SCT.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

November 2, 2006.

*813 Rachel Marie Pierce, William M. Beasley, Tupelo, attorneys for appellant.

Steven H. Begley, Ridgeland, James R. Carroll, David S. Clancy, Kara E. Fay, attorneys for appellee.

EN BANC.

RANDOLPH, Justice, for the Court.

¶ 1. John W. Prather, M.D., and his wife Barbara Prather, (collectively "the Prathers"), filed suit against Terry L. Bullard ("Bullard") and The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America ("Guardian") on December 15, 2000, about their 1990 purchase of a Guardian life insurance policy. Bullard filed a cross-claim against Guardian, alleging Guardian induced him to sell the Prathers a life insurance policy based upon false and misleading sales presentations, policy illustrations, and other marketing and sales material.

¶ 2. Less than a year after filing suit, the Prathers settled the lawsuit with Bullard and Guardian, and a judgment of dismissal with prejudice was entered on December 18, 2002. Subsequently, Guardian moved for summary judgment on Bullard's cross-claim, which the trial court granted on the basis that Bullard's claims were barred by the statute of limitations.

*814 FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 3. On December 15, 2000, the Prathers, sued Bullard and Guardian regarding their 1990 purchase of a Guardian life insurance policy. The Prathers alleged that Bullard represented to them that the "policy would require a `single premium' payment of $96,132 which would carry the policy for their lives." The Prathers further alleged that, at the time of the sale, Bullard and Guardian concealed information and misrepresented the terms of the policy, including the interest sensitive nature of the payment plan and the fact that the premiums required for the policy could change, depending on the dividend scale of Guardian.

¶ 4. After the Prathers were notified that additional premiums would be due on this policy, the Prathers filed suit. The Prathers asserted claims of fraud, fraudulent concealment, misrepresentation, negligence, conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of duty of good faith and fair dealing. Bullard filed a responsive pleading, specifically denying all charges of fraud, misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, and fraudulent inducement. Bullard moved for and was granted leave to file a cross-claim against Guardian. Bullard filed his cross-claim on February 5, 2002, alleging that Guardian induced him to sell the Prathers a life insurance policy based upon false and misleading sales presentations, policy illustrations, and other marketing and sales material. Bullard alleged that he was damaged as the result of the lawsuit and the allegations made against him.

¶ 5. Guardian then moved for summary judgment on Bullard's cross-claim. The trial court granted Guardian's motion for summary judgment, stating Bullard's claims were barred by the three-year statute of limitations. Bullard now appeals to this Court raising two issues for this Court to consider:

I. Whether the trial court erred in holding that the statute of limitations barred Bullard's claims.
II. Whether the statute of limitations was tolled by fraudulent concealment.

ANALYSIS

¶ 6. This Court reviews grants of summary judgment under the de novo standard. Stephens v. Equitable Life Assurance Co., 850 So.2d 78, 81 (Miss.2003); Cossitt v. Alfa Ins. Corp., 726 So.2d 132, 136 (Miss.1998). Pursuant to Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 56, summary judgment is appropriate when the non-moving party has failed "to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to the party's case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial." Wilbourn v. Stennett, Wilkinson & Ward, 687 So.2d 1205, 1214 (Miss.1996).

I. Whether the trial court erred in holding that the statute of limitations barred Bullard's claims.

¶ 7. Bullard argues the trial court erred in holding that the statute of limitations began to run at the time Bullard sold the insurance policy to the Prathers. Miss.Code Ann. Section 15-1-49 states, in part: "(1) All actions for which no other period of limitation is prescribed shall be commenced within three (3) years next after the cause of such action accrued, and not after."

¶ 8. Bullard contends that his cause of action did not accrue until 2000 when he first learned of Guardian's alleged fraud and dishonesty. In his amended cross-claim against Guardian, Bullard averred damage to his reputation after the Prathers filed suit and that it "appeared to the *815 community that Guardian's `vanishing premium' concept caused him to betray his policyholders." Guardian argues that Bullard's claims based on Guardian's alleged fraud began to run in 1990 upon completion of the sale of insurance to the Prathers that was purportedly induced by the alleged false representations.

¶ 9. This Court finds that in 1990 Bullard was without a cause of action, if as he claims he had no knowledge of being involved in an alleged fraudulent scheme, but more importantly, because he had suffered no damage. In the absence of damage, no litigable event arose. Bullard's cause of action against Guardian did not accrue or occur pursuant to Miss.Code Ann. Section 15-1-49(1) until the Prathers filed suit against him in 2000. As Bullard's claim against Guardian did not accrue until 2000, Bullard timely filed a cross-claim in 2002, within the applicable statute of limitations.

¶ 10. Bullard's cross-claim reads, "[t]he acts of the plaintiffs in bringing this lawsuit against him have injured him and damaged his professional standing, reputation, character, and earning capacity, and he has suffered anxiety, embarrassment, worry, mental and emotional distress and he is entitled to actual damages in an amount to be determined by a jury." Bullard also seeks damages for the attorney's fees, which he would not have incurred, but for the suit filed by the Prathers. Bullard claims to have had no knowledge of the alleged fraudulent concept of Guardian preceding the filing of the lawsuit against him.

¶ 11. The basic elements necessary to state any tort claim are duty, breach of duty, causation between the breach of the duty and the injury, and actual damage. See City of Greenville v. Jones, 925 So.2d 106, 109 (Miss.2006); Montgomery v. Woolbright, 904 So.2d 1027, 1029 (Miss.2004). This Court has held that, "a cause of action `accrues' when it comes into existence as an enforceable claim, that is, when the right to sue becomes vested." Forman v. Miss. Publishers Corp., 195 Miss. 90, 14 So.2d 344, 346 (1943). Bullard's claim did not accrue until 2000, when knowledge of breach and actual damage occurred, after the Prathers made allegations against him. Even if Bullard had knowledge in 1990, which he denies, the outcome would be no different, for without injury, no action lies.

¶ 12. The circuit court erred in granting Guardian's motion for summary judgment, as Bullard's cause of action did not arise when the policy was sold. Based on the record, we cannot say Bullard had a cause of action when the policy was sold, nor can we say he was or should have been aware of the fraud allegedly committed by Guardian upon him and the Prathers. This is analogous to our holding in PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc. v. Lowery,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
941 So. 2d 812, 2006 Miss. LEXIS 634, 2006 WL 3094125, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bullard-v-guardian-life-ins-of-america-miss-2006.