Adkins, Kelston & Zavez, PC
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Goldstein ET AL v. Savings Bank Life Ins. Co. of Massachusetts (“SBLI”)On May 20, 2010, the Superior Court granted final approval for the settlement of this Class Action lawsuit. In early September of 2010, the Settlement Administrator mailed the Settlement Payment checks (and for some current policyholders, oversaw the crediting of Paid-Up Additions and/or contributions to Dividend Accumulation Accounts) to the 400,000 Class Members comprising the Class. All checks should be cashed upon receipt, and must be cashed within 180 days (6 months). In addition, each Class Member was sent a letter that stated the amount of the Settlement Payment they are receiving (or are being credited for) and on what policies. More information about the Settlement is available on the website of the Court-appointed Settlement Administrator at www.sblisettlement.com. The settlement resolved a lawsuit that began in May 1998 that involved claims by the plaintiff-policyholders that SBLI had underpaid annual dividends on their policies as well as Special Dividends required as a result of SBLI’s 1992 reorganization. Under the terms of prior Court rulings, policyholders entitled to receive a settlement dividend are limited to owners (or their beneficiaries or eligible heirs) of (a) policies in effect during the period from December 31, 2000 to December 31, 2002 that paid dividends (the “Main Class”), or (b) policies issued prior to 1992 that were entitled to Special Dividends as the result of SBLI’s reorganization in 1992 (the “Subclass”). In sum, the Plaintiffs and SBLI agreed to settle this lawsuit with SBLI’s payment of $18,675,330 plus the costs of sending the Class Notice and administering the settlement for a total settlement value of $21.5 million as determined by Plaintiffs. A Settlement Fund was created containing $15,000,000, which is in addition to the $3,675,330 already paid in 2005 to a subset – called a Subclass – of policyholders in the case. After the payment of attorneys’ fees and expenses to Plaintiffs’ Class Counsel and the three Class Representative awards granted by the Court, the remainder of the Settlement Fund is being paid, on a pro rata basis, as settlement dividends to the 400,000 owners of the approximately 515,000 policies in the Class. As part of the settlement, all Class Members have released their claims against SBLI as discussed further in the Class Notice and the Stipulated Settlement Agreement located on the Settlement website. Current and former policyholders in the Class who received the Class Notice (and otherwise updated their address) are being sent their Settlement payments and no claim form was required. SBLI has denied the allegations in this lawsuit from the outset, maintaining in the litigation that it paid dividends consistent with all its legal requirements. The settlement contains no admission of liability by SBLI. For more information about the settlement, please visit www.sblisettlement.com or call the Settlement Administrator toll-free at 1-800-254-7328.
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