Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Metropolitan Insurance

180 F. Supp. 682, 125 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 160, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2310
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided November 30, 1959·No. Civ. A. No. 59 C 378·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

MINER, District Judge.

This cause came on for trial and the court, having heard the evidence and considered the stipulation of the parties, finds the facts and states the conclusions of law as follows:

Findings of Fact.

(1) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is a mutual life insurance corporation, organized and existing under the laws of the State of New York, and is a citizen of that State.

(2) Defendant is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the State of Illinois and is a citizen of that State.

(3) The jurisdiction of this Court is founded upon diversity of citizenship between the parties, and the matter in controversy, exclusive of interest and costs, exceeds the sum of $10,000.

(4) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, has transacted business as a life insurance company under its present name, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, for more than ninety years, to wit: continuously since on or about March 24,1868.

(5) More than ninety years ago, to wit: on or about July 15, 1868, plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, was licensed by the State of Illinois to do business in Illinois, and, with the exception of a short period between 1880 and 1881, has thereafter continually transacted business in the State of Illinois.

(6) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, is now authorized to carry on and does carry on a life and accident and health insurance business and an annuity business in all of the States of the United States, in the District of Columbia, and in the Territory of Puerto Rico, and in the Provinces of the Dominion of Canada. Plaintiff does not sell any insurance other than life insurance, group insurance, and accident and health insurance. Plaintiff sells its insurance policies and annuities directly to the general public solely through its own employees and does not hire or utilize any outside agents, brokers or independent contractors for the purpose of selling insurance, except that the plaintiff sells some group insurance and annuities through brokers.

(7) The defendant was organized under Article II of the Insurance Code of 1937 of the State of Illinois, Ill.Rev.Stat. 1959, c. 73, § 618 et seq., on or about December 19, 1950 and has engaged continuously in the business of casualty insurance in the State of Illinois since January, 1951. As of December 31, 1957, total assets of the defendant were $6,-972,000.

(8) From January 1, 1951 to December 21, 1956, the defendant’s name was “Highway Casualty Company”; on December 21, 1956 the defendant’s name was changed to “Highway Insurance Company”, and on October 20, 1958 defendant’s name was changed to “Metropolitan Insurance Company” by an amendment to its articles of incorporation.

(9) Approximately three weeks prior to the 20th day of October, 1958 in the County of Sangamon, in the State of Illinois, the defendant submitted for filing and for approval to the Director of Insurance of the State of Illinois amended articles of incorporation changing the name of the defendant from Highway Insurance Company to Metropolitan Insurance Company and said amended articles of incorporation were on or about October 20, 1958 approved and filed by the Director of Insurance of the State of Illinois.

(10) The defendant, Metropolitan Insurance Company, is authorized by its said articles of incorporation, as amended, to write only casualty insurance, including accident and health insurance, in the State of Illinois and elsewhere, as shown in Exhibit “A” attached to the Plaintiff’s Complaint filed herein. The defendant has never written that type of casualty insurance commonly called “accident and health” insurance and the un[684]*684disputed testimony is that it has no intention of doing so in the future.

(11) Defendant is authorized to do business in the States of Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington, as well as in Illinois.

(12) The defendant has filed with the appropriate state officials of each of the states other than Illinois mentioned in finding of fact No. 11, appropriate documents requesting approval by such officials of defendant’s change of name, and each of such officials has approved the change of defendant’s name from Highway Insurance Company to Metropolitan Insurance Company and has filed such documents.

(13) The change of name of defendant to “Metropolitan Insurance Company” and all of the steps to effectuate said change took place without prior notice to or prior knowledge of the plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, and the plaintiff has at no time consented to or acquiesced in said change of name. The plaintiff has not filed or attempted to file any complaint with the Director of Insurance of Illinois or with the official of any other State holding an office comparable to that of the Director of Insurance of Illinois against the defendant’s use of the name “Metropolitan Insurance Company” or sought a review and reversal by such official of the administrative act of such official in approving the defendant’s change of name from Highway Insurance Company to Metropolitan Insurance Company.

(14) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, requested the defendant, Metropolitan Insurance Company, to discontinue the use of the name “Metropolitan Insurance Company” promptly after the adoption of such name by defendant, but the defendant refused and has continued to refuse to do so, and has continued to use the name “Metropolitan Insurance Company”.

(15) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, employs approximately 28,800 agents for the sale and servicing of its life, accident and sickness insurance and to a substantial extent the receipt, at the homes of its policyholders, of premiums on such insurance.

(18) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company maintains 875 District Offices, of which 60 are located in the State of Illinois, out of which its said agents operate in the sale and servicing of its life, accident and sickness insurance and to a substantial extent in the receipt, at the homes of its policyholders, of premiums on such insurance.

(17) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, maintains 10 Regional Group Offices for the sale and servicing of Group life and accident and health insurance and annuities, said offices being located in 9 states and one province of the Dominion of Canada, one of which said offices is located in the City of Chicago, State of Illinois.

(18) More than 41,400,000 persons are covered by some form of life, accident and sickness insurance or annuities issued by plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, of whom approximately 3% million are located in the State of 'Illinois.

(19) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, has in force not less than $9,800,000,000 of industrial life insurance covering approximately 18,250,-000 persons under policies averaging approximately $540 each.

(20) Plaintiff, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, has in force not less than $42,087,000,000 of ordinary life insurance covering approximately 16,100,-000 persons under policies averaging approximately $2,600 each.

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Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Metropolitan Insurance, 180 F. Supp. 682, 125 U.S.P.Q. (BNA) 160, 1959 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2310 (N.D. Ill. 1959).

180 F. Supp. 682 (Metropolitan Life Insurance v. Metropolitan Insurance) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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