Consumer Fraud Litigation

Throughout our history, the firm’s lawyers have fought to protect consumers from unscrupulous and unfair business practices, especially by insurance companies. From protecting purchasers of annuity contracts to defending the rights of mutual insurance policyholder-owners, we have successfully prosecuted cases on behalf of consumers in state and federal courts across the country.

Integrity – Protecting Consumers’ Rights

Unfair business practices targeted at unsuspecting consumers are nothing new. Tales of hucksters and frauds stretch back into the distant past. But in our consumer-oriented society, companies that thrive on unfair business practices can be held accountable. While state and federal government watchdog agencies command the bully pulpit and have the ability to penalize companies engaging in deceitful behavior, more often than not, the consumer who has been defrauded is left with nothing. Consumer class actions are designed to vindicate the individual rights of injured consumers. These lawsuits are often the best way of directly compensating victims of unfair business practices. Consumer fraud lawsuits are often brought as class actions. Class actions permit hundreds or thousands of consumers who are harmed by the same conduct to prosecute claims in a single lawsuit thereby avoiding the duplication of effort and expense of numerous individual actions.

Service – Consumer Litigation Services

We are committed to providing the highest quality litigation services to our clients. Combining vigorous advocacy with creative approaches to litigation, we have achieved outstanding results. Because each consumer litigation matter is unique, we staff each matter in accordance with the needs of the case.

Results – Allied Mutual Company Litigation

Until November 1998 when it merged with Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, Allied Mutual Insurance Company was an Iowa mutual insurance company owned by its policyholders. In 1997, our firm, on behalf of Allied Mutual policyholders, filed a lawsuit alleging that beginning in 1985 and continuing through February 18, 1993, Allied Mutual’s management and its subsidiary Allied Group had caused Allied Mutual to enter into a series of transactions that improperly transferred substantial assets (including Allied Mutual’s employees) from Allied Mutual to Allied Group. The policyholders also alleged that significant business opportunities that belonged to Allied Mutual were improperly transferred to Allied Group. The lawsuit alleged that these transactions took away from Allied Mutual policyholders certain ownership rights in Allied Mutual and that Allied Mutual’s management team and Allied Group violated their legal duties to Allied Mutual and its policyholders and intentionally interfered with Allied Mutual’s business for their own benefit. The lawsuit also alleged that the effect of these transactions was to “demutualize” Allied Mutual – converting Allied Mutual from a mutual company into a stock company – without the formalities required by law and without paying policyholders anything for their lost ownership rights. The lawsuit also alleged that the merger of Allied Mutual into Nationwide was part of a conspiracy to deprive Allied Mutual of its claims and remedies in the lawsuit. The lawsuit was brought to restore to Allied Mutual the value it lost as a result of the wrongful transactions and then to have that value paid to Allied Mutual’s policyholders, the company’s rightful owners when the improper “demutualization” occurred.

After more than seven years of litigation, including seven appeals to the Iowa Supreme Court, Nationwide agreed pay a minimum of $128.5 million to Allied Mutual policyholders to settle the case on behalf of Allied Mutual, its management team and its subsidiary.