In re Jackson National Life Insurance

193 F.R.D. 505, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7018, 2000 WL 729540
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedMay 18, 2000
DocketNo. 1122
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 193 F.R.D. 505 (In re Jackson National Life Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Jackson National Life Insurance, 193 F.R.D. 505, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7018, 2000 WL 729540 (W.D. Mich. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT ON THE SPRAGINS PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION

McKEAGUE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs in this multi-district case are purchasers of or persons beneficially interested in life' insurance policies underwritten and sold by defendant Jackson National Life Insurance Company (“Jackson National”). Plaintiffs allege they suffered loss due to Jackson National’s representations. Among the actions transferred to and consolidated for pretrial proceedings in this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, is Spragins v. Jackson National Life Insurance Company, W.D. Mich. No. 5:99-CV-30. The Spragins case was conditionally transferred to this Court from the Northern District of Texas on January 25, 1999. Now before the Court is the motion of the Spragins plaintiffs for class certification.

I. PLAINTIFFS’CLAIMS

Plaintiffs include Robert B. Spragins, a Texas resident. • He is the insured under a $500,000 Jackson National Preferred Ultimate I life insurance policy purchased by his employer, plaintiff Lone Star Diamond Company, Inc. (“Lone Star”) in 1987. Plaintiff Linda D. Spragins is the beneficiary under the policy. Plaintiffs allege Lone Star was induced to purchase the policy by representations and illustrations indicating it would be required to pay annual premiums of approximately $4,700 for only eleven years. Thereafter, they were led to believe, the premiums would “vanish” and the policy would remain in full force and be fully paid up.

After timely making the annual premium payments, however, Lone Star was advised in January 1997 that additional premium payments, beyond the eleventh, would be required to keep the policy in force. This was ostensibly because the rate of return realized by Jackson National on the premium payments received was insufficient to enable payment of successive premiums out of the accumulated cash value, as projected when the policy was purchased.

Plaintiffs have thus been faced with the choice of either incurring the unexpected expense of continuing premium payments or potentially surrendering the policy at a substantial loss. This injury, they allege, is caused by Jackson National’s failure to disclose that the illustrations which induced purchase of the policy contained projections, based on then current credited interest rates, that were not reasonably likely to be maintained.

Plaintiffs’ complaint asserts claims under Texas law for fraud, negligence, negligent misrepresentation, violations of the Texas Insurance Code and the Texas Business & Commerce Code, and breach of contract. Plaintiffs proceed in this action on their own behalf and on behalf of other similarly situated Texas residents. In the instant motion, they ask -the Court to certify a narrowly defined class:

[A]13 persons (“Texas Only Class” or “Class Members”) who own or owned Ultimate I or Ultimate II policies issued in the State of Texas by Jackson National Life Ins. Co. (“Jackson National”) or Jackson National Life Ins. Co. of Texas (“Jackson National Texas”) and based upon objective evidence received a vanishing premium illustration at the time of purchase in which the vanish point was within five years of the filing of this lawsuit. Excluded from the class are: (1) all existing and former employees, agents, or anyone else acting on Jackson National’s or Jackson National Texas’ behalf, and their immediate family members; or (2) all persons who died while their permanent life insurance policy was in-force.

Plaintiffs seek certification of this class only with respect to their common law fraud claim and their claim for violation of the Texas Insurance Code. They seek certification under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) and (b)(3).

II. RULE 23 STANDARDS

(1) The Court has broad discretion in deciding whether to certify a class, but [508]*508must conduct a “rigorous analysis” to ensure the prerequisites of Rule 23 are met. In re American Medical Systems, Inc., 75 F.3d 1069, 1078-79 (6th Cir.1996). “Maintainability may be determined by the Court on the basis of the pleadings, if sufficient facts are set forth, but ordinarily the determination should be predicated on more information than the pleadings will provide.” Id., at 1079, quoting Weathers v. Peters Realty Corp., 499 F.2d 1197, 1200 (6th Cir.1974). See also Castano v. American Tobacco Co., 84 F.3d 734, 744 (5th Cir.1996) (going beyond pleadings may be necessary to enable understanding of precise nature of claims in context of certification issues); Cohn v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Ins. Co., 189 F.R.D. 209, 212 (D.Conn.1999) (accord). The party seeking class certification bears the burden of proof. American Medical Systems, 75 F.3d at 1079.

Subsection (a) of Rule 23 sets forth four threshold requirements that must all be met before a class can be certified:

One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

If each of these prerequisites is satisfied, the movant must also show that the action falls within one of the categories listed in Rule 23(b), of which subsections (2) and (3) are here at issue:

(2) the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole; or
(3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy ...

The Court now considers these requirements in order.

A. Rule 23(a)

Although Jackson National opposes the motion for class certification, it has not contested plaintiffs’ showing that the threshold requirements of Rule 23(a) are satisfied. The Court therefore assumes for present purposes that the numerosity, commonality, typicality and representational adequacy requirements of Rule 23(a) are met.

B. Rule 23(b)(2)

Plaintiffs contend class certification is appropriate under Rule 23(b)(2) because their complaint includes a prayer for injunctive relief applicable to the entire class. See Fuller v. Fruehauf Trailer Corp., 168 F.R.D. 588, 602 (E.D.Mich.1996) (Rule 23(b)(2) is satisfied if opposing party’s conduct is generally applicable to the class and final injunctive relief is requested for the class).

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Bluebook (online)
193 F.R.D. 505, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7018, 2000 WL 729540, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-jackson-national-life-insurance-miwd-2000.