Court Orders Depositions of Knights of Columbus' Supreme Knight, Carl Anderson, and Its Former Chief Insurance Officer, Thomas P. Smith, Jr. Regarding Litigation Now Underway by UKnight Interactive Charging Knights of Columbus with Intentionally Engaging in Wrongful Conduct to Impair UKnight's Business

BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- UKnight Interactive ("UKnight") today stated that it is pleased that the Court has ordered the depositions of Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, and Thomas P. Smith, Jr., its former Chief Insurance Officer, as well as ordered the Knights of Columbus to complete its production of membership information. UKnight, through its lawsuit, has charged the Knights of Columbus with a broad array of business misconduct.

Among the business misconduct revealed by UKnight in its legal action are:

• Actuarial fraud by the Knights of Columbus regarding the size and demographics of its membership, thereby misrepresenting to insurance carriers, credit rating agencies, and its own membership the sustainability of its membership and business model;
• The Knights of Columbus leadership causing its member councils to upstream millions of dollars in dues for non-existent members, millions of dollars which were actually raised by the councils to fund community charitable efforts, in order to inflate claims by the organization  of a much larger and younger membership base/insurance risk pool; and
• Through such improper activities, the leadership of the Knights of Columbus engaging in a self-enrichment scheme.

UKnight stated in its brief before the Court: "Carl Anderson, the Supreme Knight and titular head of Defendant Knights of Columbus, is a critical fact witness in this case. As leader of the Knights of Columbus, Mr. Anderson was involved in high-level discussions internal to the Knights of Columbus about the approval of UKnight as an approved and/or preferred vendor, as well as the negotiations between the parties. Plaintiff UKnight repeatedly has asked that Defendant make Mr. Anderson available for a deposition …but Defendant refuses to make him available."

In its brief with respect to requesting the deposition of Thomas P. Smith Jr., the fraternal Order's former Chief Insurance Officer, UKnight noted: "Tom Smith is a central – if not the central – witness to testify concerning Knights of Columbus' agreement with UKnight…… he was terminated and/or forced to retire on May 14, 2018…..now that he is not employed by defendant, he cannot be compelled to attend and testify in person."

UKnight points out in its brief that, while Smith was deposed in February 2018, "significant additional discovery has taken place, including the production of thousands of new documents…And, of course, he had not been terminated and there had been no investigative report by Defendant of Mr. Smith's potential corruption or improper activity…"

UKnight further underscored in its brief: "UKnight has not yet received the full membership information that the Court ordered to be produced in its oral ruling of September 12, 2017, and again in its Order of March 20, 2018…"

"The senior executive leadership of the Knights of Columbus should not be allowed to hide how it truly has been operating this meaningful Order to so many Catholics around the world. Its members, and especially those members who have purchased Knights of Columbus life insurance products, are entitled to and should expect proper accountability and responsibility from both the Knights' senior executives – present and past – and from the Knights' board of directors, who too are charged with responsibility of oversight of the organization and fiduciary responsibility to membership," UKnight stated.

Link to order:  
http://uknightlitigation.com/UKnight/docs/[135]%20Order%20re%20Discovery%20Issues%208_1_18.pdf

Link to amended complaint:  
http://www.uknightlitigation.com/UKnight/docs/Second%20Amended%20Complaint%20(REVISED).pdf?pdf=Doc25

Media Contact: 
Robert Siegfried 
212-521-4836 

SOURCE UKnight Interactive