Opinion ID: 1225642
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Turner II

Text: Turner v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., et al. ( Turner II ) was filed by Scott C. Turner on July 25, 2001, in California Superior Court, County of San Francisco. Turner v. Hartford Fire Ins. Co., et al., No. 323192 (Cal.Super.Ct.2001); (J.A. 134-53.) Among the defendants were a number of insurance companies, including various Hartford subsidiaries, although not The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., the Defendant in this action. The Turner II complaint alleged that the defendants entered into Undisclosed Agency Contracts with brokers, whereby the defendants paid brokers millions of dollars in undisclosed fees and commissions based upon the amount of business produced for the defendants by the brokers. (J.A. 140 ¶¶ 26-27.) According to the complaint, these fees and commissions constitute kickbacks to brokers of premiums paid to defendants by policyholders. ( Id. ¶ 27.) The complaint also alleged that the defendants engaged in unfair business practices, and breached their duty of good faith and fair dealing by failing to disclose the contingent commissions (and the concomitant increased cost of premiums to cover these commissions), to their policyholders. (J.A. 144.) In addition, the complaint alleged that the insurer defendants helped brokers prepare statements to claimants that contained false or misleading information about the material fact that brokers had a conflict of interest. (J.A. 148.) The Turner II complaint contained many allegations that appear in the instant complaint concerning the broker-insurer commission scheme (though no allegations about bid rigging or price manipulation). However, this lawsuit apparently flew under both industry and press radar screens. Filed in a California state court, it was not discussed in any of the press articles submitted by Appellees. The lawsuit also was not mentioned in any of The Hartford's public filings. Based on the exhibits submitted by Appellees, the only way this lawsuit could have come to the attention of the investing public was if someone had encountered it while examining the docket of the Superior Court of San Francisco County.