Obtained the dismissal of client insurer
Obtained the dismissal of client insurer in a dental insurance claims handling class action filed in Alabama state court and removed to federal court, alleging that our client failed to properly reimburse non-contract providers at or above contract provider rates.
Obtained summary judgment
Obtained summary judgment that resulted in the dismissal of the named plaintiff’s and putative class’s claims in a nationwide class action filed in Nevada state court, alleging that our life insurance company client failed to provide proper notice to its policyholders prior to increasing premiums in certain life products.
Settled an Alabama state class action and Department of Insurance regulatory action
Settled an Alabama state class action and Department of Insurance regulatory action that both challenged the enforceability of a block of insurance policies, based on allegations that the policies had been issued without valid insurable interests in the lives of the insureds. The settlement offered no classwide monetary relief, but instead established the enforceability and validity of the challenged block of policies as issued.
Obtained advantageous early resolution in a federal case
Obtained advantageous early resolution in a federal case in Montana that garnered national attention, including a New York Times article, involving a sympathetic elderly woman who filed suit against our insurance company client for failure to pay benefits under her long term care policy, thus avoiding further negative press.
Obtained a dismissal of plaintiff’s claims for violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practice Act
Obtained a dismissal of plaintiff’s claims for violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practice Act and unjust enrichment in a nationwide class action filed in federal court in Illinois stemming from our client’s alleged failure to comply with provisions of its long term care policies. Left with only a claim for breach of contract, plaintiff conceded that no evidence existed to support such a claim and the case was dismissed in its entirety within six months of filing.
Settled a class action filed in Alabama state court
Settled a class action filed in Alabama state court challenging our client insurance company’s handling of cancer policy benefit determinations.
Obtained summary judgment in insurance company’s favor on all of plaintiffs’ tort claims
Obtained summary judgment in insurance company’s favor on all of plaintiffs’ tort claims, which included fraudulent misrepresentation, fraudulent suppression, outrage, bad faith, conversion, negligence and wantonness, in a life insurance dispute pending in federal court in Alabama in which the plaintiffs sought more than $20 million in damages.
Obtained summary judgment in favor of client
Obtained summary judgment in favor of client in case pending in federal court in Georgia in which plaintiff alleged bad faith against a life insurer for failure to pay benefits upon the death of plaintiff’s mother.
Obtained partial summary judgment in federal court in Florida
Obtained partial summary judgment in federal court in Florida on plaintiff’s breach of contract, fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims in favor of insurance company defendant.
Obtained summary judgment for clients in federal court in Arkansas
Obtained summary judgment for clients in federal court in Arkansas on claims for breach of contract, fraud, bad faith, deceptive trade practices, and intentional infliction of emotional distress/outrage, based on allegations that that our life insurance company clients breached the insurance contract by treating payments as loans, thereby allegedly miscalculating the value of the policies.
Nationwide class action in connection with universal life policies
A nationwide class action was brought by two named plaintiffs in connection with their universal life policies. The Florida resident asserted “churning” and “level premium” claims and the Texas plaintiff asserted typical “vanishing premium” claims. Plaintiffs moved for class certification and we moved for summary judgment on plaintiffs’ claims. The United States Court for the Middle District of Florida reserved ruling on class certification and then granted our client’s motions for summary judgment in their entirety. Plaintiffs appealed to the Eleventh Circuit which affirmed the decision relating to the Texas plaintiff and affirmed the dismissal of the Florida plaintiff except for certain claims. A second Florida plaintiff alleging “vanishing premium” claims filed a similar class action and the cases were consolidated. After extensive briefing, the Court denied class certification. Plaintiffs attempt to appeal the certification decision was denied.
Defended insurance sales practices class action in Alabama state court
Successfully defended insurance sales practices class action filed in Alabama state court, alleging fraud, suppression, breach of contract in sale of our client’s various whole life and annuity products. Following the close of Rule 12 briefing, the plaintiff voluntarily dismissed both its and the putative class’s claims.
Class action complaint in Florida state court
An elderly couple filed a class action complaint in Florida state court alleging that our insurance company client’s agents marketed and sold multiple, unnecessary and inappropriate insurance policies to elderly individuals who believed they were purchasing Medicare supplement policies. Plaintiffs’ counsel then filed 13 additional, identical lawsuits on behalf of different plaintiffs and, pursuant to Florida procedure, moved to add punitive damages claims in at least four different courts. We successfully opposed the addition of punitive damages claims in all of the cases and successfully opposed class certification.
Nationwide class action filed in Texas state court
In a nationwide class action filed in Texas state court, Plaintiffs alleged that the replacement policies offered by our life insurance company defendant provided fewer benefits at a greater cost and that some policies were exchanged without owners’ permission. A settlement was reached with the class of approximately 28,000 policyholders. Pursuant to the parties’ agreement, the class was preliminarily certified for settlement purposes only. Despite strenuous objections by professional objectors and a national television campaign, we were able to resolve all objections so that certification could be finalized. The settlement enabled policyholders to revert to their original policies but did not provide any monetary damages. Additionally, we were able to reach a global settlement with plaintiffs’ counsel in more than 75 opt-out cases brought in Alabama, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia.
Nationwide insurance sales practices class action
Settled claims against our client insurance company in a nationwide insurance sales practices class action filed in the United States Court for the Northern District of Alabama, alleging discrimination in the marketing, sale and premium pricing of industrial and ordinary life insurance sold to African-Americans. Following the settlement, we successfully defended the client in 28 tag-along actions, involving the claims of over 3,000 individuals that had been carved out of the national settlement.
Nationwide class action filed in Arkansas federal court
Four policyholders and an agent brought a nationwide class action filed in Arkansas federal court against our insurance company client alleging that our client endorsed and required agents to use false and misleading sales scripts to persuade elderly individuals to purchase long-term care and annuity policies. Our firm defeated plaintiffs’ attempt to subpoena documents regarding an ongoing investigation by the Illinois Department of Insurance and ultimately succeeded in getting the entire case transferred to Illinois based on a choice of forum provision in the agent’s contract. After transfer, our team aggressively pursued discovery to which plaintiffs failed to properly respond. We moved to dismiss under Rule 41 and all plaintiffs were dismissed with prejudice.
Settled class action filed in the Southern District of Florida
Settled class action filed in the Southern District of Florida, alleging that our client insurance company’s foreign travel underwriting policies discriminated against Haitian-American applicants. The settlement offered no classwide monetary relief, but instead allowed applicants to re-apply for coverage under modified underwriting criteria.
Defended numerous client insurance companies
Defended numerous client insurance companies in mass opt-out litigation throughout the Southeast, based on vanishing premium claims.