Kasprzak v. American General Life & Accident Insurance

942 F. Supp. 303, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16032
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Texas
DecidedSeptember 18, 1996
DocketNo. 1:95-CV-0903
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 942 F. Supp. 303 (Kasprzak v. American General Life & Accident Insurance) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kasprzak v. American General Life & Accident Insurance, 942 F. Supp. 303, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16032 (E.D. Tex. 1996).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COBB, District Judge.

During a Case Management Conference before this court, counsel for defendants American General Life and Accident Insurance Company (AGLA) and American General Corporation (AGC) raised the issue of whether plaintiffs Pete and Maxine Delores Kasprzak (plaintiffs) had standing to pursue this case. In response to the defense counsel’s argument, this court asked the parties to submit written briefs detailing the parties’ views as to how this case is to proceed. The court has reviewed the parties’ written submissions and considered their oral argument. For the reasons given below, the court will dismiss all claims against AGLA and AGC, sua sponte.

Also pending before the court is the plaintiffs’ Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint. If the Amended Complaint were filed, it would be subject to dismissal. Accordingly, the court will deny the plaintiffs’ pending motion.

Background

This action concerns alleged misrepresentations concerning the sale of “vanishing premium” life insurance policies by AGLA, which were supposedly purchased by the plaintiffs. A purchaser of a “vanishing premium” policy hopes that the insurance company will be successful in investing the policyholder’s capital, so that he would not have to pay premiums in the future.

[305]*305Claiming that they and other Texas residents were misled and defrauded by AGLA when they purchased a “vanishing premium” policy, plaintiffs wish to commence a class action seeking damages for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, negligence, fraud, negligent misrepresentations, unjust enrichment, and imposition of constructive trust.1 Plaintiffs also seek leave to file an Amended Complaint, adding causes of action under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and the Texas Insurance Code.

On March 7,1996, counsel for the Plaintiffs conceded before this court that the plaintiffs never, in fact, purchased “vanishing premium” policies from AGLA. Transcript of March 7, 1996 Case Management Conference. It turned out that the Plaintiffs, who are illiterate, actually purchased a “disability premium waiver” policy — an insurance product under which the premiums are waived if the policyholder becomes disabled — and hence, a product different from and unrelated to a “vanishing premium” policy. Id. at 5.

Discussion

I. Claims Against AGC

Both the Original and the Amended Complaint name AGC as a defendant in this action. In a previous opinion, this court has already held that the plaintiffs had fraudulently joined defendant AGC. Kasprzak v. American General Life & Acc. Ins. Co., 914 F.Supp. 144 (E.D.Tex.1996). Consequently, all claims asserted against AGC are dismissed.

II. Standing

Article III of the United States Constitution limits federal courts’ jurisdiction to “cases” and “controversies.” U.S. Const. Art. Ill, § 2. An “essential and unchanging” component of this cases-or-controversy requirement is the doctrine of standing, or the need to show that the plaintiff has a direct, personal stake in the outcome of a suit. Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 2136, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (citations omitted). To satisfy the standing requirement, a plaintiff must demonstrate: (i) an injury in fact; (ii) traceable to the defendant’s challenged conduct; and (iii) likely to be redressed by a favorable decision of this court. Id. at 560-61, 112 S.Ct. at 2136. Since standing is an essential component of federal jurisdiction, lack of standing can be raised at any time by a party or by the court. Sommers Drug Stores Emp. Trust v. Corrigan, 883 F.2d 345 (5th Cir.1993).

1. Injury in Fact

Both the Original and the Amended Complaints allege certain fraudulent acts and misrepresentations by AGLA concerning AGLA’s sale of vanishing premium life insurance policies to the plaintiffs. See, e.g., Complaint at 2, 10, 12; Amended Complaint at 1, 9, 10. As it turned out, the plaintiffs never purchased a “vanishing premium” policy from AGLA. Accordingly, the injury which the plaintiffs allege in their pleadings was not in fact suffered by the plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs’ failure to plead any injury which they actually suffered is fatal to their claim. Because the plaintiffs did not buy a “vanishing premium” policy, the plaintiffs did not suffer any injury stemming from AGLA’s alleged participation in the sale of “vanishing premium” policies.

2. Injury Traceable to Challenged Conduct

While a review of the plaintiffs’ pleadings does not indicate that the plaintiffs have suffered an injury in fact, the plaintiffs argue that they have standing because they allegedly suffered some injury in their transactions with AGLA relating to their purchase of a “disability premium waiver” policy. Yet, even if the plaintiffs were injured from their purchase of a “disability premium waiver” policy, such injury cannot serve as a basis for arguing that plaintiffs have standing in a law suit relating to an insurance product which the plaintiffs did not buy.

Standing requires “a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of — the injury has to be fairly traceable to the challenged action of the de[306]*306fendant.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 560, 112 S.Ct. at 2136 (citations omitted.) In this case, the only “challenged action” is AGLA’s alleged improprieties in its sale of “vanishing premium” policies, a matter unrelated to any injury that the plaintiffs might have suffered. The standing doctrine prohibits a plaintiff who was subject to one type of injurious conduct from “litigating conduct of another kind, although similar, to which he has not been subject.” Vuyanich v. Republic Nat. Bank, 723 F.2d 1195, 1200 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1073, 105 S.Ct. 567, 83 L.Ed.2d 507 (1984) (quoting Blum v. Yaretsky, 457 U.S. 991, 999, 102 S.Ct. 2777, 2784, 73 L.Ed.2d 534 (1983)). Accordingly, this Court finds that the plaintiffs’ argument that they have standing to litigate in this case— because they have a potential cause of action against AGLA based on an entirely different insurance product — is a long-shot which ran out of the money.

3. Redressability

Moreover, because the plaintiffs did not purchase a “vanishing premium” policy, they would not be entitled to damages even if all of the allegations in their pleadings were true. Because the plaintiffs, in fact, do not have any stake in an action concerning the sale of “vanishing premium” policies, whatever injuries they might have suffered will not be redressed by the relief which their pleadings seek. Accordingly, no case or controversy exists in this action because the plaintiffs lack standing to pursue the claims asserted.

III. Appropriate Representation

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942 F. Supp. 303, 1996 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kasprzak-v-american-general-life-accident-insurance-txed-1996.