Okla. judge rules against OSU, Pickens in lawsuit

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A Payne County judge ruled against Oklahoma State University's athletic fundraising arm and its top booster, T. Boone Pickens, in their attempt to recover money spent on life insurance premiums in the school's "Gift of a Lifetime" fundraising plan.

Associate District Judge Stephen Kistler issued a ruling Tuesday in favor of Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. and several co-defendants over the fundraiser that involved taking out $10 million life insurance policies on 27 school supporters with the university as the beneficiary.

A hearing in the case had been scheduled for Friday, but that hearing was scrapped after Kistler issued his order sustaining motions for summary judgment filed by each of the seven defendants.

In his two-page ruling, Kistler noted identical claims filed by the plaintiffs in federal court in Texas were dismissed in March.

OSU's athletic fundraising foundation, Cowboys Athletics Inc., and Pickens already have appealed the federal ruling and also plan to appeal Kistler's order, OSU spokesman Gary Shutt said in a statement. Briefs in the federal appeal are expected to be filed next month.

An attorney for Summit Alliance Financial and Larry Anders, the general agents in the transaction, said he believes the claims by Pickens and OSU never should have been made.

"Our clients view the Oklahoma state court's order of dismissal, on the heels of the Dallas federal court's recent entry of judgment in their favor, as conclusive proof of the lack of merit in Cowboy Athletics' and T. Boone Pickens' claims against them," William A. Brewer III said in a statement.

Oklahoma State claimed in court filings that it was told it could make as much as $350 million through the program. Instead, OSU nixed the program about three years ago and then sued to try and regain premiums it had already paid.

The university argued that it had a right to cancel the policies and get its money back because Oklahoma law provides for a 10-day review window after policies are purchased and Lincoln did not provide actual copies of the policies until 2009.

However, athletic director Mike Holder signed policy delivery receipt forms two years earlier and didn't ask to see full copies from Lincoln, which had kept them. Oklahoma State proceeded to pay the premiums of more than $16 million for the next two years before attempting to back out of the plan.

In his ruling in March, U.S. District Judge Jorge A. Solis in Dallas ruled that Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. should keep the premiums it received from Oklahoma State as the first two yearly payments for the policies.