Universal Life Insurance Company v. Greg Lindberg ( 2024 )

USCA4 Appeal: 23-1313 Doc: 43 Filed: 08/26/2024 Pg: 1 of 4
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 23-1313
UNIVERSAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
GREG E. LINDBERG,
Defendant – Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at
Greensboro. Loretta C. Biggs, District Judge. (1:20-cv-00681-LCB-JEP)
Argued: January 23, 2024 Decided: August 26, 2024
Before HEYTENS and BENJAMIN, Circuit Judges, and MOTZ, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ARGUED: William G. Whitehill, CONDON TOBIN SLADEK THORNTON
NERENBERG, PLLC, Dallas, Texas, for Appellant. Christopher Grafflin Browning, Jr.,
TROUTMAN PEPPER HAMILTON SANDERS LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellee. ON BRIEF: Aaron Z. Tobin, CONDON TOBIN SLADEK THORNTON
NERENBERG, PLLC, Dallas, Texas; Matthew N. Leerberg, FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP,
Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. Michael B. Cohen, TROUTMAN PEPPER
HAMILTON SANDERS LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina; Luis Fernando Llach-Zuniga,
CASILLAS, SANTIAGO & TORRES LLC, San Juan, Puerto Rico, for Appellee.
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1313 Doc: 43 Filed: 08/26/2024 Pg: 2 of 4
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
2
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1313 Doc: 43 Filed: 08/26/2024 Pg: 3 of 4
PER CURIAM:
Defendant-Appellant Greg E. Lindberg appeals the district court’s grant of Plaintiff-
Appellee Universal Life Insurance Company’s (“ULICO”) motion for summary judgment.
This dispute concerns whether a guaranty agreement executed between Lindberg and
ULICO makes Lindberg personally liable for an arbitration award entered against a
company Lindberg wholly owned.
In 2017, ULICO reached out to Lindberg’s insurance company, Private Bankers
Life and Annuity, Ltd. (“PBLA”), regarding a potential reinsurance agreement. After an
evaluation that Lindberg personally participated in, ULICO and PBLA entered into a
reinsurance agreement. Additionally, “Lindberg [personally] entered into a Guaranty
Agreement with [ULICO].” J.A. 1252.
In February 2020, ULICO “initiated arbitration proceedings against PBLA,” and
asserted that Lindberg “drained over $524 million cash-equivalent assets . . . from the
[ULICO] trust account and replaced them with assets that do not conform.” J.A. 1254.
The arbitral panel awarded judgment to ULICO. The arbitral award found PBLA at fault
and “ordered PBLA to pay [ULICO] $524,009,051.26 within ten days of the entry of the
award.” J.A. 1255. The award was confirmed by a final judgment in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of New York.
When PBLA failed to pay the arbitration award within the prescribed time, ULICO
filed a breach of contract action against Lindberg in the United States District Court for the
Middle District of North Carolina, the venue prescribed by the guaranty agreement. After
discovery, ULICO filed a motion for summary judgment where it argued that the arbitral
3
USCA4 Appeal: 23-1313 Doc: 43 Filed: 08/26/2024 Pg: 4 of 4
award was conditioned on a breach of the reinsurance agreement, which unlocked
Lindberg’s obligations under the guaranty agreement.
The district court granted ULICO’s motion for summary judgment. See J.A. 1316–
18. The court adopted the report and recommendation of the magistrate judge, finding that
“the Parties agree that a valid Guaranty Agreement exists between the Parties,” satisfying
the requirement that there be a contract. See J.A. 1258. The court observed that the
guaranty agreement contained unambiguous language regarding Lindberg’s obligation to
cover PBLA’s obligations under the reinsurance agreement, finding that “there is no
ambiguity and no genuine issue of material fact as to . . . [the] issues on [ULICO’s] breach
of contract claim.” Id. at 1261; see also id. at 1259–63.
After careful review of the record and with the benefit of oral argument, we find no
error in the district court’s well-reasoned ruling. We therefore reject Lindberg’s arguments
on appeal. The district court’s order is
AFFIRMED.
4