Li v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., Inc.

• Decision Date: 11 November 1997
• Docket Number: No. 71868,71868
• Citation: 955 S.W.2d 799
• Parties: Dong LI, et al., Plaintiffs/Appellants, v. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., Defendant/Respondent.
• Court: Missouri Court of Appeals

Page 799

955 S.W.2d 799

Dong LI, et al., Plaintiffs/Appellants, v. METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, INC., Defendant/Respondent.

No. 71868.

Missouri Court of Appeals,

Eastern District,

Division Two.

Nov. 11, 1997.

Alan G. Kimbrell, St. Louis, for plaintiffs/appellants.

Ann E. Buckley, St. Louis, for defendant/respondent.

RHODES RUSSELL, Judge.

Appellants appeal from summary judgment entered in favor of defendant Metropolitan Life Insurance Company ("MetLife") on their libel claim. The issue is whether alleged defamatory statements, contained in an insurance agent's letter transmitted to the Department of Insurance ("Department"), were relevant to the Department's inquiry into claims of misrepresentation. We find that the statements were relevant, and therefore, were absolutely privileged. We affirm.

The facts in this case are fairly detailed, but are generally uncontested by the parties. During 1991 and 1992, appellants each purchased a life insurance policy (an "L95 policy") from MetLife through its agent, Bruno Wu. During the spring of 1993, some of the appellants complained to MetLife about their insurance purchases from Wu. Appellants sent a letter to MetLife's CEO asserting that Wu had not followed the appropriate sale procedures established by MetLife, and that he had misrepresented some of the important aspects of the L-95 policy. In particular, appellants complained that Wu committed the following misrepresentations: 1) appellants were misled into buying the policies because they were sold as the "best investment" for their money; 2) appellants were told that a "7 or 8-year premium paying period" was guaranteed, and that they could cash their dividends after a couple of years without affecting the total net payment; 3) no financial need analysis was performed and, therefore, more insurance was sold than needed; and, 4) no information was provided to appellants so that they could make an informed decision as to what kind of policy best fitted their insurance needs. The letter requested cancellation of the policies and return of their premiums.

After receiving these complaints, MetLife's Consumer Relations Department contacted its branch manager, and asked that he obtain and provide a statement from Wu with respect to the complaints made. MetLife's Consumer Relations Department received a letter from Wu dated May 10, 1993, consisting of six single-spaced, typewritten pages. In the course of the letter, Wu described the contacts he had with some of the complaining policyholders. Wu further responded to the accusations that he had misrepresented the policies to the policyholders. In particular, Wu wrote:

Among the 23 adults, 17 of them had Ph.Ds and M.Ds, 1 holds M.B.A., one engineer. All of them except for two hold graduate degrees. All adults hold college degrees. This is a group of smart, professional people who try to out-smart the system. (emphasis in original)

Now let me respond to the lies of me misrepresenting the policy to them.

In all of theses cases, CASS illustration was prepared and well-explained to them. Each initial sales interview took between three to five hours. All policies were delivered to them in person while I explained the policy page by page to them. A typical delivery took two hours.

* * * * * *

The accusation of them being misled into buying L95 because it was misrepresented as the best investment was ridiculous.... I always told them that they could not dream on 'making rich quickly' with a life insurance policy as they could with other investments.... The fact is, these people were sophisticated investors who were well informed of other investment options and were participants in the market before they even knew me....

* * * * * *

There was no deliberate confusion of dividends and cash values.... CASS illustration showed them very clearly the mathematical relationship and movement between premium and cash value. There is absolutely no logical or mathematical basis for anyone to believe that dividend could be cashed after a couple years without affecting the total net payment. This is again a sheer fabrication.

Financial need analysis was done in each individual case when I prepared my presentation before the initial interview....

* * * * * *

In summary, this is not about the policy. This is about a couple of individuals with personal vendetta against me who ... managed to unify some others who did not want to be left out for free insurance opportunities. Jealousy over my financial success and bitter feelings towards my efforts to Americanize them and to incorporate those individuals into mainstream U.S.A. I always told them that they have benefitted greatly from this country to become prosperous. They did not even pay tax for years. It was not too much to ask for them to have loyalty toward the U.S. Unfortunately, they only have loyalties to themselves ...

* * * * * *

I helped almost every member of this group. My help to them included ... help their family members to come over through my friends in the U.S. Senate and Congress.... My wife and I even offered to foster the children fully at our expense when some of them decided to send their kids back to China because it was a "burden to their busy schedule here in the U.S." This is the same group of people who used to call me even 12:00 a.m. to ask advises on things that had nothing to do with insurance. I did not mind then as I thought they needed my help. Now I realized that they were just taking advantage of me. One of my clients, whom this group failed to recruit, ... called me and told me to ignore these people as they were still "Red Guards" from the Chinese Cultural Revolution that happened when these people were teenagers. (Red Guards were high school students.) The Cultural Revolution in China destroyed the moral standards and taught people to distrust and only have loyalties to themselves as it was common even for husbands to report on wives, fathers to report on sons to authorities. They are part of an atheistic culture.

They also learned that a lie repeated a hundred times could become truth. They have already started a campaign to discredit me ... I strongly urge Metlife to go after these liars....

On May 27, 1993, Dong Li, on behalf of all appellants, filed a Consumer Complaint Report with the Missouri Department of Insurance. The "reason for the complaint" was listed as "Unfair treatment." In the space for describing "details of complaint" on the complaint form, Li stated:

We recently discovered that the agent in MetLife Co. misrepresented the L-95 policy which we, 31 people, all bought during 1991-1992. Because the St. Louis Branch office could not solve our problem, we wrote to the high level office of MetLife Co. We did not get any thing or hear or any word.

A copy of the letter which appellants had sent to MetLife's CEO was attached to the consumer complaint report form. The following day, the Department forwarded a copy of appellants' consumer complaint to MetLife. The Department stated:

Pursuant to Section 374.190 RSMo 1986, we are requesting a detailed letter, in duplicate, explaining the company's position with regard to this matter. Please provide in your explanation sufficient information to determine your company's compliance with all applicable provisions of Missouri Department of Insurance Regulation 20 CSR 100-1.050. (emphasis in original)

* * * * * *

Pursuant to 374.190, you must send all records or documents, including medical records necessary to support any and all statements made in the response. Replies received without supporting documents will not be in compliance with 20 CSR 100-1.050. (emphasis in original)

On July 28, 1993, a consumer relations correspondent for MetLife wrote a letter to the Department in response to its letter of May 28. The consumer relations correspondent, responding to appellants' misrepresentation complaints, stated that the terms of each plan were explained to each policy owner at the time of the policy sale, and that Wu delivered the policies to each owner and explained the policy page by page to them. The consumer relations correspondent further explained that the face page of every policy contained the "10-day Right to Examine Policy clause," in which a policyholder could cancel the policy within ten days and receive a refund if the policy was unacceptable. The correspondent noted that the fact that none of the policyholders exercised this option indicated that the policyholders had accepted the policies and their terms. The correspondent concluded that based on the information received from their local office, the policies were sold in good faith, and there was no evidence of misrepresentation. A copy of the branch manager's and Wu's letter were attached for the Department's review.

On December 14, 1993, appellants filed suit against MetLife and Wu alleging fraudulent misrepresentation in the sales of the policies. After dismissing Wu from the lawsuit, appellants filed a third amended petition which included a libel claim on September 3, 1996. The third amended petition, in addition to the fraudulent misrepresentation count, contained two additional counts. In Count II, appellants alleged that they had been libeled by the letter sent by MetLife to the Department in which Wu stated that appellants 1) were disloyal to the United...