National Western Life Insurance v. Dunn

117 So. 3d 670, 2013 WL 3609385, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 429
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedJuly 16, 2013
DocketNo. 2011-CA-01515-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 117 So. 3d 670 (National Western Life Insurance v. Dunn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
National Western Life Insurance v. Dunn, 117 So. 3d 670, 2013 WL 3609385, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 429 (Mich. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

IRVING, P.J., for the Court:

¶ 1. National Western Life Insurance Company (National Western) filed a motion in the Lee County Circuit Court to enforce a settlement agreement between National Western, Creative Marketing International Corporation (CMI), and Charlene Dunn. Dunn filed her own motion to enforce the settlement agreement pursuant to the terms stated therein. The circuit court granted Dunn’s motion and entered a final judgment against National Western. Feeling aggrieved, National Western appeals and claims that the circuit court erred in denying its motion to enforce the settlement agreement and, in the alternative, failing to reform the agreement to reflect the parties’ intent.

¶ 2. Finding that the circuit court erred in granting Dunn’s motion to enforce the [671]*671settlement agreement, we reverse the circuit court’s judgment and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTS

¶ 3. In 1997, John Murphy approached Dunn at her home on several occasions to sell her various life insurance policies, annuities, and other securities. Dunn eventually purchased multiple policies, including the two annuities at issue, which Murphy sold on behalf of National Western. She claimed that as a result of her conversations with Murphy, she understood those annuities to be ten-year annuities with a low surrender charge, between two and five percent or less. However, they were actually seventeen-year annuities with a twenty-five percent surrender charge for the first three to seven years.

¶ 4. Dunn filed her initial complaint against Future Benefits Incorporated (Future Benefits) and Murphy, an agent and employee of Future Benefits, alleging negligence, gross negligence, breach of fiduciary duties, breach of the covenant of good faith, and breach of contract regarding Dunn’s purchase of the life insurance policies and annuities. She later filed an amended complaint adding American Equity Investment Life Insurance Company, National Western, and Jefferson Pilot Life Insurance Company as defendants. She then filed a second amended complaint, adding CMI, a brokerage house which sold the listed defendants’ insurance and annuity products, as an additional defendant.

¶ 5. National Western filed a motion for summary judgment. Although the circuit court held a hearing on the summary-judgment motion, it set a trial date instead of ruling on the pending motion. CMI and Dunn later filed a joint motion for continuance, and the circuit court issued an order continuing the case and ordering the parties to mediation. National Western, CMI, and Dunn were the only parties that participated in the mediation. The parties reached a settlement and executed a settlement agreement, which stated in pertinent part:

The parties in the above styled and numbered cause agree to settle any and all claims asserted in the above styled and numbered cause and arising out of Plaintiffs relationship with Defendants [and] all affiliated companies, excluding John A. Murphy [and] Future Benefits, Inc.... Plaintiff! ][is] to execute [a] Full and Final Release ... [and] Plaintiff! ] agree[s] to indemnify and hold harmless [National Western] and [CMI] and all affiliates for any and all legal actions related to this litigation in any manner[.]

The day after mediation, Dunn returned home and reviewed her personal file containing her annuity information. She called the National Western headquarters and was given the figure of $177,495.29, which she understood to be the present value of her annuity accounts. Since this figure was considerably more than the $155,000 that she agreed to in the settlement agreement, her attorney sent a letter to National Western and CMI’s attorneys declaring that

any agreement wherein Ms. Dunn received a total of $155,000.00 while having in her annuity account[s] with National Western a balance of $177,495.29 does not make her whole. In fact, she suffered a loss of $177,495.29. Hence, the proposed settlement of $155,000.00 on the presumption that Ms. Dunn only had $107,352.00 in her accounts is tantamount to surrender charges being imposed upon Ms. Dunn. Thus, it is Ms. Dunn’s contention that any proposed settlement of the matter is null and void. [672]*672There [was] certainly no meeting of the minds.

¶6. National Western contended in its motion to enforce that it was clear during mediation that Dunn would not be allowed to retain ownership of her annuities pursuant to the agreement. National Western argued that there was no representation made as to the amount of money that Dunn had in her accounts with National Western. Further, National Western claimed that its counsel explained that the goal of the settlement offer was to put Dunn in the position that she would have been in had she never purchased the annuities from National Western, not to pay her what her accounts would be worth at the end of her annuities’ terms if she did not make any additional withdrawals.

¶ 7. In her motion to enforce, Dunn argued that surrendering her annuities was an additional term not agreed upon at mediation, not covered in the settlement agreement, and not discussed at all until National Western filed its motion to enforce. As such, Dunn insisted that the settlement agreement be enforced pursuant to the specific terms stated therein. The circuit coui't held a heai'ing on both motions, and subsequently granted Dunn’s motion and denied National Western’s motion.1 After National Western filed a motion for entry of a final judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Mississippi Rules of Civil Procedui'e, the circuit coui't entered a final judgment in Dunn’s favor against National Western.

¶ 8. Additional facts, as necessary, will be related in the analysis and discussion of the issue.

ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF THE ISSUE

¶ 9. The Mississippi Supreme Court has previously stated that “[a] settlement agreement is a contract.” Ill. Cent. R.R. Co. v. Byrd, 44 So.3d 943, 948 (¶ 16) (Miss.2010) (citing McManus v. Howard, 569 So.2d 1213, 1215 (Miss.1990)). “The existence of a contract and its terms are questions of fact to be resolved by the fact-finder, whether a jury, or a judge in a bench-trial.” Ammons v. Cordova Floors, Inc., 904 So.2d 185, 188 (V13) (Miss.Ct.App.2005) (quoting Anderson v. Kimbrough, 741 So.2d 1041, 1045 (¶ 12) (Miss.Ct.App.1999)). Cases that involve the interpretation of contracts are reviewed de novo, as these issues are questions of law. Cherokee Ins. Co. v. Babin, 37 So.3d 45, 48 (¶ 8) (Miss.2010).

¶ 10. National Western contends that, although the settlement agreement does not specifically address the annuities, the plain language in the agreement is broad enough to include the ownership of the annuities as a claim or right that Dunn must release. National Western also insists that Dunn failed to present any evidence that there was a meeting of the minds that she could retain ownership of her annuities. The Mississippi Supreme Court has held that “in order for there to be a settlement there must be a meeting of the minds.” Vaughn v. Rettig, 912 So.2d 795, 799 (¶ 21) (Miss.2005) (quoting Viverette v. State Hwy. Comm’n of Miss., 656 So.2d 102, 103 (Miss.1995)). “The burden is upon the party claiming the benefit of the settlement to demonstrate by a preponderance of the evidence that there was a meeting of the minds.” Id. (quoting Viverette, 656 So.2d at 103).

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117 So. 3d 670, 2013 WL 3609385, 2013 Miss. App. LEXIS 429, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/national-western-life-insurance-v-dunn-missctapp-2013.