183419P.pdf   06/26/2020  Michael Vogt  v.  State Farm Life Insurance Comp
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  18-3419
                          and No:  18-3434
   U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City   
   [PUBLISHED] [Shepherd, Author, with Grasz and Kobes, Circuit Judges] 
   Civil case - Class Actions. In this class action, more than 25,000 life 
   insurance policyholders alleged defendant State Farm impermissibly 
   included non-listed factors in calculating Cost of Insurance fees assessed 
   on life insurance policies; a jury awarded them $34 million and State 
   Farms appeals; the named plaintiff cross-appeals the district court's 
   decision to deny the class prejudgment interest. Held: The district court 
   did not err in determining that no ordinary person of average 
   understanding purchasing the policies would conclude that State Farm would 
   use non-listed factors to calculate COI when the policy stated the COI 
   would be "based on" listed factors; the phrase is at least ambiguous and 
   thus must be construed against State Farm; the district court did not err 
   in denying State Farm's oral motion for summary judgment based on a 
   statute-of-limitations defense; no error in certifying the suit as a 
   class-action based on existing Eighth Circuit case law; nor were there 
   class conflicts so substantial as to overbalance common interests of the 
   class members as a whole; the district court's certification did not 
   create an impermissible "fail-safe" class; plaintiff's damages models were 
   sufficient to sustain the jury's damages award; various evidentiary 
   challenges rejected; plaintiffs' judgment on their conversion claim 
   affirmed; on the prejudgment interest cross-appeal, the district court 
   properly denied plaintiffs request for the Missouri statutory rate of 
   interest; however, plaintiffs were entitled to prejudgment interest at the 
   4% rate contained in the contract; remanded for further proceedings on 
   calculating the interest award.