People ex rel. Lockyer v. Fremont Life Insurance

Introduction

In a bench trial the court found Fremont Life Insurance Company (appellant) had violated Business and Professions Code section 17200 et seq., the “unfair competition law,” in connection with the sale of certain annuity policies. The trial court imposed approximately $2.5 million in civil penalties, granted injunctive relief, and required appellant to offer restitution. Appellant contends that the civil penalties should be reversed as an abuse of discretion and a violation of constitutional due process; that the restitution provisions should be reversed because not all consumers were harmed by appellant’s violations and on the ground that the restitution order constitutes an excessive, double punishment; and that the restitution notification requirements should be modified. We affirm the judgment.

*512 Background

Appellant concedes that substantial evidence supports the findings of the trial court. The following factual summary is based on the statement of decision.

Appellant and the Alliance for Mature Americans (AMA) “combined in various ways unlawfully to sell inter vivos trusts and annuities primarily to senior citizens.” AMA first solicited potential…