After the jury returned a verdict against North American on each of the claims, North American filed several post-trial motions, primarily relating to the damage awards. Id. The Court, however, went on to note that " [w]hile these ratios are not binding, they are instructive. But when the company servicing the mortgage has been sold several times, it's hard to know where to go to demand the lien release. It did not, and by failing to do so, North American forfeited its argument to the extent that it was not forfeited by the failure to assert those grounds in their Rule 50(a) motion, We agree with the district court that the common-law claim of unfair competition has likely been replaced by the statutory offense described in the Missouri Trade Secrets Act. Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided. The company went on an acquisition binge, taking on a huge debt load that is now the basis of its plight. Meridian Enters. North American responds that the Conseco employees engaged in these acts because of Conseco's financial woes, and that they were simply concerned about their livelihood. By Darla Mercado. Auto. He slashed the aggregate workforce of the five companies he had purchased between 1985 and 1989, for example, from 850 to 450 by 1993. We value your privacy. 07:01 AM. The instant appeal ensued. Conseco looks to sell $46B mortgage subsidiary - Mar. 31, 2000 It's their baby.'. Are there fees for closing a bank account? Conseco Inc.'s money-losing consumer finance unit would be split into two pieces and sold for $1 billion under the winning bid in an all-night bankruptcy auction that concluded Wednesday. On appeal, North American offers an eloquent and persuasive argument regarding the stringent requirements relating to the calculation of lost profits, particularly in relation to "net" profits. Under the terms of a tentative bankruptcy agreement, Conseco Finance Corp. will be sold to CFN Investment Holdings LLC. Ann. Conseco, Inc. provides insurance, investment, and lending services to more than 12 million customers. You can explore additional available newsletters here. Proceeds from the sales will help satisfy creditors owed $6.5 billion in parent company debt. 'This is what I love to do,' Hilbert proclaimed in the June 7, 1993, issue of the Indianapolis Business Journal. This time, however, he was looking for seed capital to fund his business startup, Security National of Indiana Corp. Odds are they may even be the same title company that US Bank is using for the new proposed refinance as well. All rights reserved. On appeal, the district court's determination of punitive damages is reviewed under an abuse of discretion standard. 'This (criticism) goes back to instinct and gut feeling, and no hard facts,' said money manager Martin Lizt in a January 1993 issue of Financial World. Finally, Scott Bristol, a former area manager at Conseco's St. Charles, Missouri, office, testified that although he did not have personal knowledge that any loan originators working under him in St. Charles made copies of customer loan applications, it was possible that such copying did occur. You basically need to say the following to US Bank "You did our refinance back in 2003 and it was based on the existing trust deed with Greentree being paid in full and satisfied at closing, which it was paid in full and satisfied, but the company failed to record a reconveyance and that is why their trust deed still appears on our title. Satisfied with its recipe for acquiring and improving insurance companies, Conseco stepped up its acquisition efforts in 1986. Walsh, 332 F.3d at 1159; LeSueur Creamery, Inc. v. Haskon, Inc., 660 F.2d 342, 346 n. 7 (8th Cir. Workers, 34 F.3d 1148, 1155 (2d Cir. In 1992, just ten years after starting his business, Hilbert was one of the highest paid executives in the United States. We are satisfied that North American's conduct was sufficiently reprehensible to support the jury's award of punitive damages. Its portfolio includes traditional life insurance, annuities and supplemental health coverage. Although Podner claims he made these copies in order to help a fellow employee make the transition to loan originator, Conseco provided evidence that would allow a reasonable finder of fact to determine that a threat of misappropriation existed with regard to these specific files. Did Yamamoto really say the sleeping giant quote? In some instances, the former Conseco office managers also took their staffs of loan originators with them to North American. At the end of 1996 Conseco made two more acquisitions--American Travellers Corp. for $880 million and Transport Holdings, Inc., for $228 million. Other ventures included outdoor and indoor theaters in Indiana and Ohio. Another of North American's witnesses, Perry Schatz, testified only five percent of Conseco's leads result in a funded loan. 2 Who bought out Conseco Finance Servicing Corp? Share & Print. Conseco Inc., Carmel, Indianapolis, has sold its finance subsidiary, Conseco Finance Corp., in a Chapter 11 sale that culminated March 5 in a winning bid of $1 billion. Are you wasting your Amazon Prime benefits? Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was David G. Wasinger of St. Louis, MO. Address: 11825 North Pennsylvania Street Carmel, Indiana 46032 U.S.A. Telephone: (317) 817-6100 Fax: (317) 817-2847 http://www.conseco.com Statistics: Public Company Incorporated: 1979 as Security National of Indiana Corp. Employees: 17,187 Total Assets: $98.4 billion (1999) Stock Exchanges: New York Ticker Symbol: CNC Stephen C. Hilbert Stephen C. Hilbert, the man who founded Conseco 21 years ago and built it into a highflying insurance industry giant through a series of acquisitions, was forced to resign yesterday. Pony Comp., Inc. v. Equus Comp. To complement that holding company's subsidiaries, Security National of Indiana was established to develop and market new life insurance products and services. We are further convinced that North American's net worth was not the sole consideration in the jury's punitive award. In the year 2000 his salary increased to $400,000. In support of this motion, Conseco identified three former employees that it alleged had misappropriated its trade secrets. A court hearing to consider approval of Conseco's disclosure statement _ a document designed to provide creditors enough information to evaluate whether to support Conseco's reorganization plan _ is scheduled to be considered by Judge Doyle March 14. However, Conseco's headquarters remained in Carmel, and Hilbert planned to sustain his active management role there. But my net worth's in Conseco. The company's stock had returned an average of 39 percent a year since becoming a public company in 1985. However, the district court denied North American's summary judgment motion relating to misappropriation of lead sheets, documents in Conseco's loan files, unfair competition, and tortious interference with business relations. [9][10] Conseco's bankruptcy was the third-largest U.S. Chapter 11 filing at the time, after the bankruptcies of WorldCom Inc. and Enron. Conseco asserts that Kevin Kattleman, Kevin Podner, and Scott Bristol all removed customer loan files-or copies of the files-from Conseco's offices. But in what amount? Shortly after this employee exodus began, Conseco received a letter from one of its St. Louis branch customers, Michael Mambretti, complaining that his confidential loan information had been taken by a Conseco loan originator, from Conseco to North American. Conseco's troubles began two years ago, in what some say was a foreshadowing of Enron and other celebrated collapses. PITCHERS ARE RED HOT: The Great Lakes Loons gave up just 15 runs while taking five out of six Mid-Michigan police officer accused of defrauding Meijer of $10K, Crime log: Harassment complaints made by township residents. Wendt is celebrated for his business acumen and for his bitter and very public divorce from his first wife, Lorna, several years ago. For example, PNC charges a $25 fee if you close an account within 180 days of opening. To insure the confidentiality of these lead sheets, Conseco requires all employees to sign a form that acknowledges their receipt and understanding of the contents of Conseco's Employee Handbook. Indeed, the conduct involved repeated actions in multiple offices.13 North American's actions also involved trickery and deceit, and an utter disregard for Conseco and-even more heinously-the privacy of its customers. The Carmel, Ind.-based company expects to reduce costs by more than $150 million in an attempt to restore the Conseco Finance unit, and the overall company, to profitability. It is important that you conduct whichever is most appropriate for your case to guarantee the best outcome. Therefore we begin by noting that the district court gave correct and distinct instructions relating the purpose and standard for punitive damages, and turn our focus to the reprehensibility of North American's conduct. A number of these now former employees testified (at the preliminary injunction hearing) that because Conseco was leaving the subprime lending market, they worried about their future, especially considering the fact that they worked on commission. In 1982, Hilbert acquired his first life insurance company, Executive Income Life Insurance Co., for $1.3 million. We agree. Chief Judge Loken did not participate in the consideration or decision of this case, Formerly known as Green Tree Financial Servicing Corporation, Conseco also employs other strategies to generate new business including internet advertising, telemarketing campaigns, "cross-marketing" of current customers, direct mail, television, radio, and yellow page advertising, and referrals from various business associates, One of North American's own witnesses admitted that North American had improperly taken Conseco's documents and repeatedly lied about it during the discovery process, His estimate was based on an average loan size in the Midwest of $85,000, The unfair competition instruction to the jury was expressly predicated on trade secret misuse, while the tortious interference claim concerned the issue of wrongful and unjustified interference with Conseco's reasonable expectation of economic advantage or benefit. It turned out to be a bad deal for Conseco, and they were forced to sell to GE Capital in 2003. In fact, it experienced stellar growth during 1992 and 1993. Copyright (c) 2022 Company-Histories.com. In recent years, Conseco has been one of the most successful insurance companies in the United States. This is the case for many customers of Conseco Finance Servicing Corporation. Removing a state tax lien from public record, What Is a Lien Release on a Car and What to Expect, How to Secure a Lien Release in Illinois Instantly, How to Secure a Vehicle Lien Release Immediately, How to Get a Capital One Lien Release Hassle-Free, 3 Easy Steps to Filing a Release of Lien Form In New Mexico, State Tax Lien Statute of Limitations In California Explained. Hilbert, now with a few successful acquisitions under his belt, took Conseco public in 1985 in an effort to boost its investment capital. Federal law allows you to withdraw as much cash as you want from your bank accounts. Cir. The following year Conseco increased its share to 90 percent. For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the opinion of the district court in part and reverse in part. The company grew quickly during the 1980s and 1990s through some 40 acquisitions. In viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we hold there is ample evidence supporting each element of an unfair competition claim. Mambretti learned this fact through a phone call from a North American loan originator. FTC's website on credit. Who bought out Green Tree Financial? - IronSet So, we purchased a mobile home in 1997 and it was financed through Greentree Financial. The problem here is that after so many transfers of ownership, loan documents frequently get lost. Given North American's failure to comply "with Rule 50, our review is limited to `whether the record reflects an absolute dearth of evidentiary support for the jury's verdict.'" In contrast, more than 80 percent of Conseco's portfolio comprised fixed maturities, and only two percent consisted of real estate holdings. Conseco's 1989 annual report boasted that it had eliminated 83 percent of the employees from one of its acquisitions. Here are the three easy steps that you need to take: And thats it! In an apparent bid to distance itself from past troubles, Conseco Inc. yesterday changed its name to CNO Financial Group Inc. Shareholders voted in favor of . (formerly Conseco, Inc. (from Consolidated National Security Corporation)) is a financial services holding company based in Carmel, Indiana. Kattleman testified that he was uncertain as to exactly how the customer loan files came to be located in his office at North American. True to his original concept of combining size with innovation, Hilbert established his enterprise in 1982 under two separate companies. It moved that concern's headquarters from Dallas to Carmel. By 1989, Conseco's assets were valued at $5.2 billion. They pointed to the company's relatively low net worth, which was equal to only two percent of its total assets in 1991. It's not a permanent solution but it solves it for that specific transaction. At the end of 2000, Conseco mobile-home loans totaled $26.3 billion, or about 55% of the firm's $46.6 billion in financial receivables, according to its annual report, filed Monday. One caveat to this rule is that some banks will charge an early account closure fee if you close an account soon after opening it. Who is the new host of Dancing with the Stars? 2d 585 (2003) (quoting Gore, 517 U.S. at 575, 116 S. Ct. 1589). Termination of the agreement, however, created bank and accounting fees of about $36 million and spurred a Merrill Lynch analyst to downgrade the company's stock. FICO, myFICO, Score Watch, The score lenders use, and The Score That Matters are trademarks or registered trademarks of Fair Isaac Corporation. We will consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, giving the prevailing party the benefit of all reasonable inferences, Id. From an encyclopedia salesman in eastern Indiana, Hilbert had successfully boosted his status to that of corporate multimillionaire. Conseco acquired the remaining 63 percent interest in American Life in September 1996. Galdieri-Ambrosini v. Nat'l Realty & Dev. Mark S. Wasinger and John B. Morthland of Hannibal, MO appeared on the brief. And in 2001 North American paid Keeler a salary of $2,500,000. Conseco Inc.'s money-losing consumer finance unit would be split into two pieces and sold for $1 billion under the winning bid in an all-night bankruptcy auction that concluded Wednesday. The net worth of North American is approximately $3.6 billion.9 Here, the jury awarded punitive damages of $18 million and compensatory damages of $3.5 million, resulting in a 5.14 to 1 ratio. The proceeds from the sale of its finance unit are expected to be used to satisfy the creditors of Conseco Finance Corp., the company says.
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