Hancock v. Americo Financial Life & Annuity Insurance Co.

272 F. Supp. 3d 763
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedJuly 25, 2017
DocketNO. 7:16-CV-350-FL
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 272 F. Supp. 3d 763 (Hancock v. Americo Financial Life & Annuity Insurance Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hancock v. Americo Financial Life & Annuity Insurance Co., 272 F. Supp. 3d 763 (E.D.N.C. 2017).

Opinion

ORDER

LOUISE W. FLANAGAN, United States District Judge

This matter is before the court on defendant’s motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim (DE 17). Briefing having been completed, the issues raised are ripe for ruling. For the following reasons, defendant’s motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff commenced this action on October 14, 2016, asserting claims against defendants arising from the sale by defendant Investors Life Insurance Company of North America (“Investors Life”) of a policy of life insurance to plaintiff in February 1985, policy number 303 1163280 (the “policy”), and collection of premiums thereunder through October 2013. Plaintiff claims that defendant Investors Life, in conjunction with the other defendants who are allegedly affiliated entities, breached the terms of the policy. Plaintiff asserts claims for breach of contract; declaration and injunction; equitable rescission; unjust enrichment and constructive trust; fraudulent suppression and concealment; fraud; breach of duties of good faith and fair dealing; unfair and deceptive trade practices; and violations of North Carolina’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) act. Plaintiff seeks compensatory and punitive damages and certification of the case as a class action on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated.

Defendants filed the instant motion to dismiss on December 9, 2016, asserting that all claims fail as a matter of law and should be dismissed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). The court stayed scheduling activities pending decision on the motion. Plaintiff responded in opposition to the instant motion on January 20, 2017, and defendants replied on February 3,2017.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

The facts alleged in the complaint may be summarized as follows. On February 6, [766]*7661985, plaintiff, then 33 years old, applied for a “Flexible Premium Adjustable Life Insurance” policy from defendant Investors Life (the “policy”). (DE 1-2 at 1; see DE 1-2 at 24-25).1 On February 15, 1985, defendant Investors Life issued the policy to plaintiff. A cover letter to the policy, titled “Flexible Premium Adjustable Life Insurance Policy” states, inter alia “We agree to pay the Cash Value to the Owner on the Maturity Date if the Insured is living on that date. All payments made are subject to the policy provisions.” (Id.). The next page includes a table of contents. (Id. át 2).

A “policy specifications” page follows, stating that the “initial specified amount” is $50,000.00 and the “minimum initial premium” is $41.27. (Id. at 3). It also includes the following note and information:

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(Id.). .The next four pages comprise a “Table of Expense Charges,” “Table of Surrender Charges,” “Insured Table of Guaranteed Maximum Insurance Rates Per $1000,” and “Other Insured Table of Guaranteed Maximum Insurance Rates Per $1000.” ,(DE 1-2 at 4-7).

The next page contains “general provisions” including the following:

[767]*767[[Image here]]

(id. at 8), and the following:

(Id.). The next two pages cover “exchi-sions,” “ownership and beneficiary,” and “premiums,” including the following provisions regarding premiums:

[768]*768[[Image here]]

(id. at 9), and the following:

[769]*769[[Image here]]

(id. at 10). A subsequent section of the policy titled “nonforfeiture provisions” in-eludes the following additional provisions, pertaining to “cash value” and deductions therefrom:

[770]*770[[Image here]]

(Id. at 12). The “interest” rate is defined as set forth in the following provision:

(Id.). In addition, the “monthly deduction” is defined as including a charge for “cost of insurance” calculated as set forth in the following provision:

[771]*771[[Image here]]

(Id. at 13). The table referenced is one of the four initial tables at the front- of the policy, which shows the cost of insurance for each age group, between 0 and 94 years. For example, the rate for age 33 (plaintiffs age at policy inception) is 0.29008, whereas the rate for age 65 (plaintiffs age at filing of complaint) is 3.98456. (Id. at 6). .

The policy then includes the following further provisions regarding - cash value:

(Id. at 13). The remainder of the policy includes provisions concerning surrender, policy loans, settlement options, a waiver of monthly deduction disability benefit rider, an other insured convertible term insurance rider, and a children’s term life insurance rider. (See id. at 13-23).

Subsequent to issuance of the policy, defendant Investors Life began to increase plaintiffs premium. Plaintiff first became aware of this increase via communications with defendant Investors Life in October 2013. “Unbeknownst to [plaintiff], Investors Life had increased his premiums over a decade earlier, and had been taking mon[772]*772ey out of the cash value of the policy to cover the difference between the $44.62 (after a rider was added increasing the initial $41.27 premium) he continued to pay every month and the ever increasing premiums [defendant] Investors Life was charging.” (Compl. ¶ 53). Plaintiff “has lost the entire accumulated cash value of the policy, as well as seen his premium payments skyrocket from approximately $41.00 a month to $160.00 a month.” (Id.).

Defendant Americo Financial Life and Annuity Insurance Company (“Americo”) purchased defendant Investors Life in 2008. (Id. ¶ 4). Defendant Investors Life is a wholly owned subsidiary of Americo. Defendant Americo Life, Inc. (“ALI”) is an insurance company or holding company with Missouri as its state of incorporation and principal place of business. (Id. ¶ 5).

DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

“To survive a motion to dismiss” under Rule 12(b)(6), “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 663, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). In evaluating whether a claim is stated, “[the] court accepts all well-pled facts as true and construes these facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff,” but does not consider “legal conclusions, elements of a cause of action, ... bare assertions devoid of further factual enhancement[,] ... unwarranted infer-énces, unreasonable conclusions, or arguments.” Nemet Chevrolet, Ltd. v. Consumeraffairs.com, Inc., 591 F.3d 250, 255 (4th Cir. 2009) (citations omitted).

B. Analysis

1. Breach of Contract

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Related

Hancock v. Americo Fin. Life & Annuity Ins. Co.
378 F. Supp. 3d 413 (E.D. North Carolina, 2019)
Dillon v. Leazer Group, Inc.
374 F. Supp. 3d 547 (E.D. North Carolina, 2019)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
272 F. Supp. 3d 763, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hancock-v-americo-financial-life-annuity-insurance-co-nced-2017.