Adkins, Kelston & Zavez, PC
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Goldstein v. Savings Bank Life Ins. Co. of MassachusettsGoldstein v. Savings Bank Life Ins. Co. of Massachusetts (“SBLI”). We have received preliminary court approval for a proposed settlement with Defendant SBLI on behalf of the Class. As a result, the Court-appointed Settlement Administrator mailed a Class Notice describing the proposed settlement to all Class Members on March 5, 2010. The Settlement Administrator also set up a website www.sblisettlement.com containing the Class Notice and additional information about the proposed settlement. The settlement, which must receive final court approval after a fairness hearing scheduled for May 20, 2010, would resolve 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. 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 in an amount to be determined by the Court, the remainder of the Settlement Fund will be used to pay, on a pro rata basis, settlement dividends to the owners of the approximately 515,000 policies in the Class. As part of the settlement, all Class Members will release 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 receive notice will be sent their Settlement payments without having to file a claim form, but former policyholders may need to update their address and can do so through the Administrator. 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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