Opinion
CV 13-4502-DSF (VBKx)
07-05-2016
MICHAEL DON, EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF RUBEN DON, LEROY LITTLE, by and through his Guardian ad Litem TAMARA PELHAM, and CAROLYN JAN LITTLE, Individually, and as the Class Representatives on behalf of those insureds similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. UNUM GROUP a Delaware Corporation; and UNUM LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, a Maine Corporation, Defendants.
JUDGMENT
Pursuant to the Order (1) Approving the Class Action Settlement, (2) Awarding Class Counsel's Fees and Class Counsel's Expenses, (3) Awarding Service Awards and Payments to Class Representatives, (4) Permanently Enjoining Parallel Proceedings, and (5) Dismissing this Action with Prejudice:
IT IS ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that:
1. The Court has personal jurisdiction over the Parties and all members of the Settlement Class, subject matter jurisdiction over the claims in the captioned action (the Action), and jurisdiction to approve the Stipulation For Settlement (the Stipulation). The Settlement Class is subject to - and bound by - this Judgment and includes, subject to the exclusions listed below, the following persons:
"Settlement Class" means, subject to the exclusions listed below, all Class Members, except the following: (1) persons who properly opted-out of the Settlement; (2) any officer, director, employee or agent of Unum; and (3) any judge, justice, or judicial official presiding over the Action and the staff and immediate family of any such judge, justice, or judicial official. Notwithstanding the above, no Claim shall be eligible for or approved for Settlement Relief with respect to any Policy for which a valid agreement or release exists between Unum and the Settlement Class Member that would preclude the Settlement Class Member's right to receive relief from the Settlement.
"Class Member" means and includes any person included in the definition of Subclass I, Subclass IV, or Subclass VII.
"Subclass I" means all current and former insureds nationwide whose Unum LTC Policies state "[u]nless we tell you something else, years, months and anniversaries that we refer to are calculated from the Policy Date" and Unum used (for insureds with "accrued damages"), is using (for insureds "in claim"), or will use (for "future claimant" insureds) the Effective Date. The class representative for Subclass I is Don.
"Subclass IV" means all current (as of the Settlement Agreement Execution Date) and former insureds nationwide whose Unum LTC Policies contain an optional provision for inflation protection which states that their Lifetime Maximum Benefit Amount will increase, and Unum applied (for insureds with "accrued damages"), is applying (for "in claim" insureds), or will apply (for "future claimant" insureds) the annual inflation increase to the remaining Lifetime Maximum Benefit Amount, even though the word "remaining" does not quantify or reduce the Lifetime Maximum Benefit Amount. The class representatives for Subclass IV are Don for those insureds who have "accrued damages," and Pelham for the "in claim" and "future claimant" insureds.
"Subclass VII" means all current and former insureds under Unum's LTC Policies nationwide issued pre-2002 who since 2010 received a "duplicate" policy that was not an exact copy of their original policy. The class representatives of Subclass VII are Pelham for "in claim" insureds, and Little for "future claimant" insureds.
Excluded from the Settlement Class are the following policyholders who timely filed exclusion forms: (1) ROBERT EDWARD GRACE, (2) JENNIF GRACE, (3) DONNA J. CRISPENO, (4) LARRY E SHOFFNER, (5) CAROLE M. BAGGETT, (6) NADINE KAY, (7) DOROTHY FEVOLD, (8) PHOEBE A. BRODERICK, (9) JULIE CAMPBELL, (10) DAVID J. MULLHOLAND, (11) ANN P. RIETH, (12) MICHAEL KUNKIN, (13) FRANK HUMPRES JR, (14) JEAN ROLL, (15) GERALD E. MILLER, (16) MARY MILLER, (17) PATRICIA A. BRISTOL, (18) DOUGLAS A. LUETJEN, (19) THOMAS E. ROLL, (20) LUANNE O. BULLOCK, (21) DEANNA D. FARRAH, (22) VIVIAN J. BARKER, (23) JOHN H. LEBOEUF, (24) WILLIAM L. WEBB, (25) KAREN J. SEAT, (26) DOROTHY E. CHALLINOR, (27) ELSIE T. MARUNO, (28) MILTON C. CAMPBELL, (29) PRISCILLA D. MILLER, (30) WAYNE TERRY, (31) CHARDELLE F. HULL, (32) SANDRA HATHAWAY, (33) DOROTHY J. MORINAGA, (34) ANITA L. PIERCE, (35) SHAMEEM MIRZA, (36) ROGER L. ROUCH, (37) K. DIANE ROUCH, (38) ANNA C. HAMPTON, (39) KENNETH HAMPTON, (40) SUSAN C. RITTER, (41) KATHRYN MULLHOLAND, (42) PATRICIA J. HUMPRES, (43) RONALD BRUYERE, (44) KATHERINE M. AKAGI, (45) BARBARA A. COLUCCI, (46) YVONNE B. NICHOLSON, (47) HOWARD W. NICHOLSON, (48) CONSTANCE SMITH, (49) JULIE E. SMITH, (50) B. DARLENE OGAN, (51) NANCY B. FRENCH, (52) RON D. BRUCE, (53) SUSAN M. MYERS, (54) DORIS A. HENSON, (55) STANLEY G. SEAT, (56) HILARY FISHER, (57) ELIZABETH A. SPRINGER, (58) JANET CASTLE, (59) ELIZABETH M. STUCKART, (60) BOB L. VIA, (61) PAMELA VIA, (62) ERNIE R. PROWS, (63) CHARLENE HERNANDEZ, (64) SANDRA K. BULLARD, (65) MARY ANN YOUNCE, (66) SHIRLEY E. LIPPARD, (67) YOUSSEF HATEFI, (68) STACY HACKNEY, (69) BEVERLY A. SILVEIRA, (70) MARGARET T. HIGA, (71) LAWREN HIGA, (72) MONA J. GROVE, (73) JULIE CILINO, (74) NATALIE BERKEY, (75) JANE VIAL, (76) JACQUELINE JACOBS, (77) JIM BLACK, (78) CLYDE J. MCKINLEY, (79) MARCIA A. ODELL, (80) THERESA SMYTHE, (81) MARJORIE QUOCK, (82) PATRICE RANDLE, (83) JAMES LEON RANDLE, (84) WILLIAM R. STRUCKMANN, (85) GWENDO STRUCKMANN, (86) LYNN A. FRITZIUS, (87) DONNA C. WICKMAN, (88) JOYCE F. COFFIN, (89) JANE Y. KUMAMOTO, (90) RYLLIS M. POINDEXTER, (91) CLARA ELIZABETH MILLER, (92) EDITH M. JOHNK, (93) JEAN K. ERNST, (94) MARK HOBBS, (95) JANET I. ARONSON, (96) BRETON LEWELLEN, (97) KAREN D. LEWELLEN, (98) KAREN D. LEWELLEN, (99) BRENDA K. DAMEK, (100) IRENE L. ALLEN, (101) VIMALA RAO, (102) JACK W. BLOOMER, (103) MARION B. MAY, (104) MARLENE A. BLOOMER, (105) CONNIE ROWAN, (106) PAUL A. ROWAN, (107) BONNIE B. RUST, (108) MARION H. EMERY, (109) MARY A. MITCHELL, (110) EDITH K. NOMI, (111) DIANE W. BOULAVSKY, (112) JUDY V. WEAVIL, (113) ROGER HOLT, (114) SASHA RAMESSAR, (115) LANNY BOYCE, (116) MAUREEN E. VINCENT, (117) JOAN HERNDON, (118) CANDACE M. SILBER, (119) GUIDO H. STEMPEL, (120) RICHARD L. SHERIDAN, (121) NANCY A. PERRY, (122) JOANNE CURATOLO, (123) JOAN B. MORRELL, (124) GAIL L. RUTH, (125) KATHLEEN D. GAGLIARDI, (126) ANTHONY J. RZEPELA, (127) DAVID CHAMPE, (128) JENNIE F. KONDO, (129) MAUDE R. CALDWELL, (130) GIOVANNI VIGNOLO, (131) SALLY J. WETZEL, (132) LINDA S. KISER, (133) JUDY KELLER, (134) NONA L. ECHEVARRIA, (135) DOMINGO ECHEVARRIA, (136) MARY A. HENSLEY, (137) DWAYNE L. SNYDER, (138) THERESA A. MORIN-DOYLE, (139) ARLENE TYLER, (140) CHARLE SUTTLES, (141) MICHELE SUTTLES, (142) JACK C. WILLIAMS, (143) LOUANN LUTHER, (144) ELAINE ROSE, (145) WILLIAM J. FREDERICK, (146) SHARON FREDERICK, (147) ROSALIE RETTMANN, (148) ROBERT H. LEWIS, (149) MICHAEL A. CHASE, (150) KAREN M. FURUTA, (151) ANGELINE T. MILLS, (152) SUSI B. SLOCUM, (153) DIANE B. HUBBARD, (154) CYNTHIA G. LAKE, (155) ANTONIA MARIA FISHER, (156) BARBARA SHANNAHAN, (157) PATRICIA GOODWIN, (158) WILLIAM E. MOOREHEAD, and (159) NANCY MOOREHEAD. 2. Venue is proper. 3. This Action (including all the claims of Plaintiffs and the Settlement Class Members) is dismissed, with prejudice on the merits, without fees to any party except as provided in the Stipulation to the extent not inconsistent with the Court's Order awarding Class Counsel's Attorneys' Fees and Class Counsel's Expenses. 4. The Release set forth in Section IX of the Stipulation For Settlement is incorporated into this Judgment as if fully set forth here. 5. All Settlement Class Members and their representatives are permanently enjoined from filing, commencing, prosecuting, maintaining, intervening/participating in, conducting, or continuing litigation as class members or from receiving any benefits from any lawsuit, administrative, arbitration, mediation or regulatory proceeding or order, or other legal proceeding, in accordance with the provisions of Section XII of the Stipulation. 6. All Settlement Class Members, and all persons in active concert or participation with any Settlement Class Member, are permanently enjoined from filing, commencing, or prosecuting any lawsuit, arbitration, mediation or other legal proceeding or action, a separate class, or group for purposes of pursuing a putative class (including by seeking to amend a pending complaint to include class allegations seeking class certification in a pending action in any jurisdiction) arising out of, based on, or relating to the Released Claims (as defined in the Stipulation). 7. All Settlement Class Members, and all persons in active concert or participation with any Settlement Class Member are permanently enjoined from organizing or soliciting participation of any Settlement Class Member in a separate class or group for purposes of pursuing a putative class action, or any claim or lawsuit, or mediation or other legal proceeding in any jurisdiction based on the Released Claims (as defined in the Stipulation). IT IS SO ORDERED. Dated: 7/5/16
/s/_________
Dale Fischer
United States District Judge