First, this whole thing is kooky. The guy is off his rocker, obviously.
But let’s look at the prison sentence. According to this story, he goes into their offices with a firearm. He holds a person hostage for several hours, then releases him. He plans to kill himself but does not.
And he is sentenced to 100 years? Okay, 30 were suspended for some stupid reason. Both numbers are moronic.
We have got to take a hard look at how we punish people. This does not make any sense. Kill someone and get 20 years. Take them hostage and get 70?
First, this is typical of a badly flawed legal system. Second, why would anyone pay a piece of human garbage for doing something despicable? Third, why would any self-respecting judge even allow the suit to be filed?
Second, the only way that any kind of payment would be voluntarily considered would be to defer defense costs. (allthough I wouldn’t even consider that to be honest).
Third, you know a self respecting judge? I’d like to meet him/her.
Or my personal favorite from handling a large metropolitan PD claim where officers came to a woman’s house in response to a 911 call, found the woman’s grown son stabbing her repeatedly with a large kitchen knife. They shouted several times at him, took one shot and wounded him and he wouldn’t stop. Finally they had no choice but to fire a fatal shot. Lady gets rushed to the hospital, where she spends weeks in intensive care. When she finally gets out, the first thing she does is gets a lawyer and files suit against the PD for killing her son.
Also like those silly lawsuits from people who broke into houses to steal things while the homeowners’ were away on vacation and get locked in the garage and then sue the homeowners for emotional distress (and win) because they get locked in the garage and lived on dog food for a week.
Based soley on the limited info here, including the fact that the company agreed to pay him $161K, I’ve got to admit some sympathy for the guy. I guess he was “mad as hell and [wasn’t] going to take it anymore”. Who of us hasn’t at least looked down that rabbit hole?
I haven’t. Must have been some good reason for the governor to commute his sentence as well I suppose. In any case, its not in the judge’s purview to “approve” a lawsuit that is filed. This is the USA and you can sue for anything. Whether it survives the first MSJ is another story though…
I just got off the phone with a GA I know. ONe of his agents sold a Midland term policy this afternoon and the agent didn’t make it back to the office before the prospect called and canceled the policy.
Said they googled Midland’s name after he left and saw the Ripoff Report about all of the lawsuits against Midland and didn’t want anything to do with them.
GA did his own search and Midland’s name is all over the internet. He was so pissed he told his sec to call all of his agents and tell them to pull their apps from their sales kits until this thing cools down.
Our legal system is badly flawed, outdated, bogged down by crap like this, and has a jury system that sucks. You will never be judged by a “jury of your peers”. Losers should have to pay defense costs. Let’s get PROFESSIONAL jurors who are well-educated and well compensated to deliver objective decisions. In this suit, the judge should have looked this ahole in the face, told him his was an ahole, and thrown his stupid *** out of the courtroom along with his suit. Then his lawyer should have been charged with contempt for thinking the judge was an ahole. I’m tired of the losers and deviants using the legal system as a free crack at getting un-deserved money.
If I understand your logic, this guy’s an “ahole” because
he risked his business trying to protect policy holders
he reacted badly to having his FAMILY THREATENED
he caught Midland trying to launder over 50K of his money off their books
Midland signs a settlement with him and then they back out
they threaten him AGAIN
If this guy was in a fight with Mother Teresa I might question his credibility but Midland National Life has been sued all over the country for ripping off their customers.
I’m going to assume that you posted without reading the lawsuit.
Thank you for your blessing. While I agree with you on an emotional level, I can’t excuse the fact this guy KIDNAPPED SOMEONE AND HELD THEM AT GUNPOINT. That’s never justifiable. Putting someone else’s life in jeapardy to make a point doesn’t qualify acceptable. He’s fortunate SWAT didn’t take the shot.
I don’t want to belabor the point but did you read the lawsuit?
The guy claims the person he was suppposed to have kidnapped LIED in court. The police had a tape of the victim telling them he WASN’T kidnapped.
What reason did the cops have for holding that back until it was too late? If he produces that tape in court it could get real interesting.
And why did the trial judge ask the Gov to step in?
Why did Midland then pay him a hush hush settlement. If he had really done all this stuff then Midland should have been suing HIM.
Did you see Midland’s response in the article on this page. THEY DIDN’T DENY THEY HAD THREATENED HIM OR THAT THERE WAS A SETTLEMENT. If they’re so innocent why wouldn’t they have ripped his suit item by item?
Something stinks here and, considering Midland’s rep, I don’t think we have heard the whole story yet.
Regardless, I don’t think I would want to try selling anything for Midland for a while. Anyone that googles their name will see this lawsuit and all of the other lawsuits policy holders have brought against Midland.
You know, if it were just this one guy you might give Midland the benefit of the doubt but ALL of this othet stuff about them……I don’t know…..
Regis, regardless of whether or not he kidnapped him, hes still entitled to the commission he was cheated out of. Hes out of jail now, and has never harmed anyone.
You know it dawned on me last night after I read this that when it happened twenty years ago there wasn’t an internet to post stories like this to so I did a search about Midland and found that they have been sued in
CA
MN
IA
RI
HI
AL
All class action and all claiming that Midland used shaky sales practices to rip off customers. Isn’t that EXACTLY what this guy was saying twenty years ago. Maybe it was just easier to cover things up then than it is now.
The other thing that bothered me is whether the justice system is fair in SD so I call a friend of mine who is a prominent lawyer in SD. He told me this guy got the screw job of all time.
Maybe MIdland has some real pull there. You know, a big fish in a small pond.
Yes, the agent is entiled to his commission, but that is still no justification to holding someone hostage, even if the person you are holding hostage is the person responsible for denying your commision. What the agent should have done is sued them for commssion owed and his attorney fees.
Why did the cops hold back the tape where the hostage said he WASN’T kidnapped?
The more I read about this the more I think this guy DID get screwed.
I got three different calls from GAs last night asking for suggestions of other insurance companies. They were either afraid of Midland or afraid that Midland’s rep on the net was going to cause them grief.
What happens if someone posts the names of Midland agents listed on the web along with stories about Midland ripping people off. The agent’s rep is going to be tarnished too even if they aren’t doing anything wrong.
And I agree. Why hasn’t Midland put out a press release ripping this suit allegation by allegation? Of course, if they publish bs now it’s going to haunt them in court when the evidence kills them.
I mean the guy used bad judgment. No one will argue with that but they threatened his family. How would you have responded to that?
I called a GA that has been with Midland for years and asked him about this. He said he remebers the the thing from 91 but Midland said the guy was lying. NOw he’s beginning to question what Midland told him because why would they pay the guy hush money if Midalnd didn’t do anything wrong?
He said he told his agents to hold off selling anything for Midland until they see how long this is on the web. I think he’s worried about his customers checking out Midland on Google.
As I was writing this the GA called me back and said that one of his policy holders had left a message at his office that he had seen the story and wouldn’t support any insurance company that acted that way.
Don’t Trust Midland National Life or Midland Annuity. They have been sued all over the country for their sales practices that amount to ripping off senior citizens.
Ask your life insurance agent for alternatives to Midland National. If they are unwilling to suggest any you may want to consider another insurance agent.
You just have to wonder whether Midland has managed to trash whatever good name they used to have.
Midland National is part of the Sammons Financial Group and is affiliated with the North American Company for Life and Health and Midland Annuity.
This life insurance agent is licensed with Midland National Life Insurance Company or one of its affiliates.
Don’t Trust Midland National Life or Midland Annuity. They have been sued all over the country for their sales practices that amount to ripping off senior citizens.
Ask your life insurance agent for alternatives to Midland National. If they are unwilling to suggest any you may want to consider another insurance agent. You just have to wonder whether Midland has managed to trash whatever good name they used to have.
Midland National is part of the Sammons Financial Group and is affiliated with the North American Company for Life and Health and Midland Annuity.
Last December, after an investigation by a former federal prosecutor, Midland National Life basically took the Fifth Amendment on allegations of defrauding the Court and threatening Castaneira. You can read more about it at http://www.midlandnationallifeupdate.se.
It’s not often you see a life insurance company get caught like this, but it’s refreshing.
This is so wrong on so many levels I don’t even know where to start.
First, this whole thing is kooky. The guy is off his rocker, obviously.
But let’s look at the prison sentence. According to this story, he goes into their offices with a firearm. He holds a person hostage for several hours, then releases him. He plans to kill himself but does not.
And he is sentenced to 100 years? Okay, 30 were suspended for some stupid reason. Both numbers are moronic.
We have got to take a hard look at how we punish people. This does not make any sense. Kill someone and get 20 years. Take them hostage and get 70?
Personally, I think he should have followed through on his first plan and saved the taxpayers a lot of money
First, this is typical of a badly flawed legal system. Second, why would anyone pay a piece of human garbage for doing something despicable? Third, why would any self-respecting judge even allow the suit to be filed?
First, yeah, we knew that already.
Second, the only way that any kind of payment would be voluntarily considered would be to defer defense costs. (allthough I wouldn’t even consider that to be honest).
Third, you know a self respecting judge? I’d like to meet him/her.
Only in America.
Reminds me of the case of the fellow who killed his parents, then appealed to the judge for leniency, due to the fact that he was an orphan…
Or my personal favorite from handling a large metropolitan PD claim where officers came to a woman’s house in response to a 911 call, found the woman’s grown son stabbing her repeatedly with a large kitchen knife. They shouted several times at him, took one shot and wounded him and he wouldn’t stop. Finally they had no choice but to fire a fatal shot. Lady gets rushed to the hospital, where she spends weeks in intensive care. When she finally gets out, the first thing she does is gets a lawyer and files suit against the PD for killing her son.
I truly hope you are kidding.
I never kid about claims. (well not to their face anyway) Seriously though, true story.
Also like those silly lawsuits from people who broke into houses to steal things while the homeowners’ were away on vacation and get locked in the garage and then sue the homeowners for emotional distress (and win) because they get locked in the garage and lived on dog food for a week.
Seen those, paid that.
Based soley on the limited info here, including the fact that the company agreed to pay him $161K, I’ve got to admit some sympathy for the guy. I guess he was “mad as hell and [wasn’t] going to take it anymore”. Who of us hasn’t at least looked down that rabbit hole?
Sounds more like the plot to Christmas Vacation. Does this guy resemble Cousin Eddy?
I HATE paying nuisance claims. Much rather pay our lawyers than theirs…
Midland really screwed this guy over.
He asked them to clean up their act and then stole over $350,000 of his commissions when he wouldn’t play ball.
He claims they threatened him and his family TWICE.
Now it turns out that Midland has been sued all over the country for ripping off senior citizens.
Once this gets out on the internet I wouldn’t want to try to sell their name to a prospect.
I haven’t. Must have been some good reason for the governor to commute his sentence as well I suppose. In any case, its not in the judge’s purview to “approve” a lawsuit that is filed. This is the USA and you can sue for anything. Whether it survives the first MSJ is another story though…
I just got off the phone with a GA I know. ONe of his agents sold a Midland term policy this afternoon and the agent didn’t make it back to the office before the prospect called and canceled the policy.
Said they googled Midland’s name after he left and saw the Ripoff Report about all of the lawsuits against Midland and didn’t want anything to do with them.
GA did his own search and Midland’s name is all over the internet. He was so pissed he told his sec to call all of his agents and tell them to pull their apps from their sales kits until this thing cools down.
Can’t blame him.
Here’s a link to a website with the lawsuit.
http://www.midland-national-life-review.com/
Lawsuit says there was settlement agreement. It’s not posted but, if he has it and Midland backed out, no MSJ is going to gussy up that turd.
If I was Midland I would be REAL careful about raising a frivolous defense. Juries don’t like insurance companies in the first place.
Our legal system is badly flawed, outdated, bogged down by crap like this, and has a jury system that sucks. You will never be judged by a “jury of your peers”. Losers should have to pay defense costs. Let’s get PROFESSIONAL jurors who are well-educated and well compensated to deliver objective decisions. In this suit, the judge should have looked this ahole in the face, told him his was an ahole, and thrown his stupid *** out of the courtroom along with his suit. Then his lawyer should have been charged with contempt for thinking the judge was an ahole. I’m tired of the losers and deviants using the legal system as a free crack at getting un-deserved money.
What planet are you from?
If I understand your logic, this guy’s an “ahole” because
he risked his business trying to protect policy holders
he reacted badly to having his FAMILY THREATENED
he caught Midland trying to launder over 50K of his money off their books
Midland signs a settlement with him and then they back out
they threaten him AGAIN
If this guy was in a fight with Mother Teresa I might question his credibility but Midland National Life has been sued all over the country for ripping off their customers.
I’m going to assume that you posted without reading the lawsuit.
Here’s the link
http://www.midland-national-life-review.com/Home_Page.php
If you read that and still believe what you wrote……..well, God bless you.
Thank you for your blessing. While I agree with you on an emotional level, I can’t excuse the fact this guy KIDNAPPED SOMEONE AND HELD THEM AT GUNPOINT. That’s never justifiable. Putting someone else’s life in jeapardy to make a point doesn’t qualify acceptable. He’s fortunate SWAT didn’t take the shot.
I don’t want to belabor the point but did you read the lawsuit?
The guy claims the person he was suppposed to have kidnapped LIED in court. The police had a tape of the victim telling them he WASN’T kidnapped.
What reason did the cops have for holding that back until it was too late? If he produces that tape in court it could get real interesting.
And why did the trial judge ask the Gov to step in?
Why did Midland then pay him a hush hush settlement. If he had really done all this stuff then Midland should have been suing HIM.
Did you see Midland’s response in the article on this page. THEY DIDN’T DENY THEY HAD THREATENED HIM OR THAT THERE WAS A SETTLEMENT. If they’re so innocent why wouldn’t they have ripped his suit item by item?
Something stinks here and, considering Midland’s rep, I don’t think we have heard the whole story yet.
Regardless, I don’t think I would want to try selling anything for Midland for a while. Anyone that googles their name will see this lawsuit and all of the other lawsuits policy holders have brought against Midland.
You know, if it were just this one guy you might give Midland the benefit of the doubt but ALL of this othet stuff about them……I don’t know…..
Thanks for your kind words.
Regis, regardless of whether or not he kidnapped him, hes still entitled to the commission he was cheated out of. Hes out of jail now, and has never harmed anyone.
You know it dawned on me last night after I read this that when it happened twenty years ago there wasn’t an internet to post stories like this to so I did a search about Midland and found that they have been sued in
CA
MN
IA
RI
HI
AL
All class action and all claiming that Midland used shaky sales practices to rip off customers. Isn’t that EXACTLY what this guy was saying twenty years ago. Maybe it was just easier to cover things up then than it is now.
The other thing that bothered me is whether the justice system is fair in SD so I call a friend of mine who is a prominent lawyer in SD. He told me this guy got the screw job of all time.
Maybe MIdland has some real pull there. You know, a big fish in a small pond.
Yes, the agent is entiled to his commission, but that is still no justification to holding someone hostage, even if the person you are holding hostage is the person responsible for denying your commision. What the agent should have done is sued them for commssion owed and his attorney fees.
Did you read the lawsuit?
Why did the cops hold back the tape where the hostage said he WASN’T kidnapped?
The more I read about this the more I think this guy DID get screwed.
I got three different calls from GAs last night asking for suggestions of other insurance companies. They were either afraid of Midland or afraid that Midland’s rep on the net was going to cause them grief.
What happens if someone posts the names of Midland agents listed on the web along with stories about Midland ripping people off. The agent’s rep is going to be tarnished too even if they aren’t doing anything wrong.
And I agree. Why hasn’t Midland put out a press release ripping this suit allegation by allegation? Of course, if they publish bs now it’s going to haunt them in court when the evidence kills them.
I mean the guy used bad judgment. No one will argue with that but they threatened his family. How would you have responded to that?
I called a GA that has been with Midland for years and asked him about this. He said he remebers the the thing from 91 but Midland said the guy was lying. NOw he’s beginning to question what Midland told him because why would they pay the guy hush money if Midalnd didn’t do anything wrong?
He said he told his agents to hold off selling anything for Midland until they see how long this is on the web. I think he’s worried about his customers checking out Midland on Google.
As I was writing this the GA called me back and said that one of his policy holders had left a message at his office that he had seen the story and wouldn’t support any insurance company that acted that way.
Man, what a mess!
Don’t Trust Midland National Life or Midland Annuity. They have been sued all over the country for their sales practices that amount to ripping off senior citizens.
If you want to know more, just Google MIDLAND NATIONAL LIFE REVIEW or MIDLAND NATIONAL LIFE COMPLAINT or visit http://www.midland-national-life-review.com
Ask your life insurance agent for alternatives to Midland National. If they are unwilling to suggest any you may want to consider another insurance agent.
You just have to wonder whether Midland has managed to trash whatever good name they used to have.
Midland National is part of the Sammons Financial Group and is affiliated with the North American Company for Life and Health and Midland Annuity.
probably the same judge that allowed him to file for custody of children while he was incarcerated.
the man is scum, but some people have kids that might be messed up over their father killing themselves. Just a thought.
dont feel too bad for him, when he finally did get money, guess how much of it he sent to help his family.
insurance guy is Castaneira, and I don’t think that he believes in God, nor does he believe God will bless you
correct, he has no problems suing them, any any one elses name he can spell now, what was different then?
Read the last six comments if you want a reason NOT to do business with Midland National Life.
oh no my “friend” don’t use me to cover your your mistakes “insurance guy” nice cover though. I call bs.
This life insurance agent is licensed with Midland National Life Insurance Company or one of its affiliates.
Don’t Trust Midland National Life or Midland Annuity. They have been sued all over the country for their sales practices that amount to ripping off senior citizens.
If you want to know more, just Google MIDLAND NATIONAL LIFE REVIEW or MIDLAND NATIONAL LIFE COMPLAINT or visit http://www.midland-national-life-review.com
Ask your life insurance agent for alternatives to Midland National. If they are unwilling to suggest any you may want to consider another insurance agent. You just have to wonder whether Midland has managed to trash whatever good name they used to have.
Midland National is part of the Sammons Financial Group and is affiliated with the North American Company for Life and Health and Midland Annuity.
There’s a new wrinkle to this story.
Last December, after an investigation by a former federal prosecutor, Midland National Life basically took the Fifth Amendment on allegations of defrauding the Court and threatening Castaneira. You can read more about it at http://www.midlandnationallifeupdate.se.
It’s not often you see a life insurance company get caught like this, but it’s refreshing.