Council agrees to settlement for animal welfare division

City Council members have agreed to settle a lawsuit involving the City of Lawton's animal welfare division for one-third of the disputed proceeds from a life insurance policy.

The council met in special session this week to discuss the issue in executive session because it involves a lawsuit, which is allowable under Oklahoma's Open Meeting Act.

At issue was a suit filed in U.S. Western District Court of Oklahoma in 2024 by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, naming as defendants Jenifer Mars, the City of Lawton dba Lawton Animal Welfare, and the Lawton Humane Society & Animal Shelter Inc. In the suit, MetLife asks the court to determine who is the correct beneficiary of the $83,000 life insurance policy of Susan Lawless, an Apache woman who died in 2023.

Lawless had a life insurance policy through her job at Comanche Nation Entertainment, issued by MetLife.

When Lawless executed the beneficiary designation in September 2016, she named Lawton Animal Shelter as the sole beneficiary. In its lawsuit, MetLife said there is no entity registered or operating as Lawton Animal Shelter, so it located two entities close to that designation: Lawton Animal Welfare, a division of the City of Lawton, and Lawton Humane Society & Animal Shelter Inc., a non-profit that runs an animal foster program. "MetLife is without sufficient information or knowledge to determine which, if any, of these entities Ms. Lawless intended to designate," the suit states.

According to information provided by Comanche Nation Entertainment and others, Lawless took leave from work in June 2023 due to a serious health condition (the cancer, which led to her death in October 2023). On Sept. 28, 2023, co-worker Jenifer Mars, checked Lawless out of the nursing facility where she was staying and moved into Lawless' house to care for her.

On Oct.6, 2023, a power of attorney form was signed giving Mars authority to act on Lawless' behalf in certain matters. According to the suit, the notarization form specified that Lawless appeared in person and was of sound mind when she signed, something a Comanche Nation Entertainment worker disputed based on seeing her earlier that day and arguing the signature was different than Lawless' signature on other work documentation, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also noted that Lawless' beneficiary designation form was changed electronically on Oct. 12, 2023, to name Jenifer Mars as the sole primary beneficiary. Mars notified Comanche Nation Entertainment of Lawless' death on Oct. 16, 2023. Comanche Nation officials filed an incident report on the beneficiary change, citing potential theft/fraud. Mars, in a statement to officials, has said she helped provide care for Lawless until her death, and that she was only honoring Lawless' wishes, to include caring for her three dogs after her death.

In its suit, MetLife said the conflicting claims cannot be resolved, with each defendant maintaining "claim to the Plan Benefits." Because MetLife cannot resolve the issue, it said the court should do so. If the court determines the 2023 beneficiary form is valid, the benefit plan is payable to Mars. If it is ruled invalid, benefits are payable to Lawton Animal Welfare and Lawton Humane Society. MetLife said it has no interest in the plan benefits, except to recover its attorney fees and the costs of the legal action. The firm also wants the court to enjoin defendants from instituting any legal action against the company, and direct defendants to either settle the issue among themselves or have court do it.

In its motion, council members unanimously approved a settlement agreement on behalf of Lawton Animal Welfare calling for receipt of one-third of the disputed proceeds from Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. They also directed the city attorney and mayor to sign, execute and file all necessary documents to officially settle the suit.