Opinion ID: 1704812
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Policyholder Order

Text: The trial court did not abuse its discretion in ordering National Security to produce a list of policyholders and addresses of `preferred policies' i.e., those that do not pay benefits upon death within 2 years of issue; and of those policies issued pursuant to a lapsed policy issued by National Security: within the State of Alabama during the past five years. We addressed a similar issue in Ex parte First National Bank of Pulaski, 730 So.2d 1160 (Ala.1999). In that case, involving claims of fraud in regard to the sale of credit-life insurance, we held that the trial court did not clearly abuse its discretion in requiring the defendant Bank to produce the names and addresses of all Alabama residents who had borrowed money from the Bank through a specific loan officer in 1994 and 1995. In Ex parte Union Security Life Insurance Co., 723 So.2d 34 (Ala.1998), the plaintiff sued Union Security when it denied a claim on a credit-life insurance policy purchased in connection with the purchase of a truck; the plaintiff alleged fraud, breach of contract, negligence, wantonness, and bad-faith refusal to pay insurance benefits. We held that the trial court did not clearly abuse its discretion in ordering the defendant insurance company to produce all applications for credit-life insurance received from Alabama residents during a five-year period. Moreover, because the complaint asked for punitive damages, we held that the plaintiff had shown a need for the discovery she requested, and we stated that the trial court's order reflected the need: `[W]e believe that the United States Supreme Court's opinion in BMW of North America, Inc. v. Gore, 517 U.S. 559, 116 S.Ct. 1589, 134 L.Ed.2d 809 (1996), increased the necessity for a plaintiff alleging fraud and seeking punitive damages to seek pretrial discovery of similar alleged acts of misconduct by the defendant. The United States Supreme Court stated: Perhaps the most important indicium of the reasonableness of a punitive damages award is the degree of reprehensibility of the defendant's conduct. 517 U.S. at 575, 116 S.Ct. at 1599[, 134 L.Ed.2d at 826].' Ex parte Union Security, 723 So.2d at 39 (quoting Ex parte Horton, 711 So.2d at 983-84). Boutwell alleges fraud and requests punitive damages. Thus, he is allowed broader discovery than would be allowed generally in other cases. However, his discovery is not unlimited. Our decisions in Ex parte First National Bank of Pulaski and Ex parte Union Security suggest that the time and geographical limitations imposed by the trial court are important in closely tailoring the discovery to Boutwell's claims. Although the trial court's order could have been clearer, we conclude that the court intended for the phrase within the State of Alabama during the past five years to be a limitation applying to both the request for a list of holders of preferred policies and the request for a list of holders of policies issued pursuant to a lapsed policy. Interpreted thus, the discovery order is closely tailored to Boutwell's fraud allegations and is not oppressive or overly burdensome for National Security. Accordingly, we do not find that the trial court clearly abused its discretion.