Opinion ID: 779517
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Prelitigation Events

Text: 5 In 1992, Equitable announced that it would begin calculating insurance agents' future commissions on medical policies based on the 1992 policy premium base rather than on future premium increases. Perceiving such action to be a breach of Equitable's contract with its insurance agents, agent Michael Siefe complained to Equitable in October 1992. His complaints were to no avail. 6 Siefe contacted two attorneys, neither of whom was interested in representing him on a contingency fee basis because (1) his claim was not clear cut, (2) his claim only posed a modest monetary threat (by Equitable's standards), (3) Equitable was a large insurer with significant resources to retain highly qualified attorneys, (4) the attorneys were busy with other cases with a better risk/rate-of-return ratio, and (5) the attorneys were not willing to invest the necessary time to learn the issues. 7 Sometime later, in March 1996, Siefe contacted Herbert Adelman, a lawyer in Washington, D.C. Adelman previously had filed a class action against Equitable on behalf of medical policyholders. After Adelman determined that there was sufficient merit in the claims to warrant a meeting, they met for three days in May 1996 to discuss the case. Adelman ultimately agreed to represent Siefe and other similarly situated agents. 8 Adelman had difficulty securing local counsel in California. He contacted approximately six law firms in California, none of which was interested in the case because (1) the litigation was anticipated to be protracted and expensive, and involved a defendant with great resources, (2) the risk of loss was significant, and (3) there was a possibility of a statute of limitations defense. Adelman also spoke to lawyers in Florida, Texas, and New York firms but could not find anyone interested in filing a case in one of those states. Eventually Adelman found local counsel in California. 9 On September 19, 1996, Adelman delivered a letter to Equitable's counsel stating that an association composed of current and former Equitable insurance agents was planning to circulate a letter to all of Equitable's agents setting forth claims against Equitable unless Equitable was willing to enter into discussions regarding the agents' claims. Equitable requested additional time as well as documentation to review the claims, but made no commitment regarding how it would respond. Equitable also requested that Adelman not circulate the letter pending its review of the claims. 10