Court Refuses to Prohibit Debate on MCC Premium Finance Program

In a significant reversal of its previous position, the Superior Court of Orange County ruled that life insurance industry innovator Mark Ross cannot be prevented from engaging in public dialogue about the business practices of Mutual Credit Corp. [MCC], an Irvine, Calif.-based premium finance agency that Mr. Ross alleges has defrauded seniors out of hundreds of millions of dollars in life insurance protection. The decision continues the successful advance of Mr. Ross’ efforts to “clean up” abusive practices in the life insurance industry.
MCC and its co-defendants sought a preliminary injunction to silence Mr. Ross and prevent him from disseminating the facts about the program and the manner in which it is being operated by MCC’s principals. The court’s decision implicitly recognizes the crucial role that the free exchange of ideas and criticism plays in ferreting out what may prove to be improper acts and ensuring that an industry’s participants are held to the highest standards of integrity when dealing with the public.
Mr. Ross, along with Toni Jones, the trustee of a life insurance trust which purchased an insurance policy financed by a loan from MCC, has sued the financing agency in Orange County Superior Court to force it to abide by the terms of its agreement. When Mr. Ross was hired by Ms. Jones to help her fulfill the terms of her loan agreement, their efforts were thwarted by MCC. MCC has unilaterally sought to disregard the terms of the very contract it authored in favor of a procedure which may seriously harm the seniors whose lives are insured, and their families.
The court’s ruling also formalized an agreement requiring Mr. Ross not to use any confidential information received from the opposing party. “I have not ever, nor do I have any need or intention of ever utilizing any such information. The court’s order merely affirms that which has always been the case,” said Mr. Ross. Similarly, the court reiterated its concern that Mr. Ross not act in any manner adverse to the interests of the defendants. “It is not my desire or in the interest of my companies to act in any manner adverse to defendant Spurling. My overriding concern is the welfare of the seniors who participated in this trans-action, the integrity of the premium finance portfolio my own companies created and manage, and the welfare of the insurance industry in general.”
“The practices described in this lawsuit against MCC emphasize the need for all parties in this industry to come together and develop a consensus on best practices to protect consumers while preserving legitimate premium financing transactions,” said Peter Molinaro, the newly installed President and Chief Operating Officer of the American Life Insurance Congress. “This is one of the goals of the Congress, and we look forward to getting down to work.”
Anyone interested in understanding more about the manner in which MCC loans are being operated and the issues raised by these actions are invited to visit the Mark Ross & Co., Inc. website at www.markross.com, or to contact Mr. Ross directly at 212-355-5566. The website contains nonprivileged documents relevant to the case, and will be updated on a regular basis to keep the public informed.
CONTACT:
Mark Ross
+1-212-355-5566 ext. 323
Web site: www.markross.com