Legal Question in Business Law in Michigan

Breach of Fiduciary Duty

I am contracted with an Insurance FMO to sell Retirement Benefits to Postal Employees, selling a ROTH IRA that is an annuity/life insurance hybrid. I entrusted FMO to handle my 401k Rollover with a previous employer (Indymac Bank)into an IRA Annuity. The FMO, Preferred Financial Corporation in Sterling Heights, MI failed to roll my 401k in a timely manner, and to date, there is no action to request funds from my current plan administrator. The company stock portion of my 401k portfolio has devalued by approximately $1000 between my initial request and now, since Indymac Bank has ceased mortgage origination yesterday (7/7/08). In addition, I became appointed with FMO under false pretense that leads would be generated and provided for me, with absolutely no prospecting -- yielding a 75 to 100K annual income. To this day, since Mid-May, I have yet to see a single lead. In addition, I paid my own travel expense to train in their Michigan Office of approximately $400.

Is it appropriate to sue for all the above?


Asked on 7/08/08, 11:57 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Audra Arndt Audra A. Arndt & Associates, PLLC

Re: Breach of Fiduciary Duty

Do you have any kind of written contract with your employer? Or even email exchanges or correspondence confirming any or all of the details of your employment?

Without knowing more details, it sounds like you have some cause of action against them, including a possible breach of employment/contract claim and a possible fraud claim. With regard to them rolling over your 401K, I'd have to see any documentation wherein they agreed to do this and under what timeframe. To prevail on any of your claims, you'd need to show damages, and it may require an expert (such as an economist) to calculate and estimate all of your damages.

To know how much, if anything, you may be entitled to for the leads that never came about, again, I'd have to see any contract you had with your employer to ensure that these were actually guaranteed, versus just a "possibility" or a "potential."

If you want to retain a lawyer to pursue your case, please contact me. If they are located in Michigan, then that is where you have to sue them (versus Cali, where you live).

Thanks.

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Answered on 7/08/08, 7:15 pm


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