Emily Sortor  |  July 31, 2019

Category: Insurance

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Insurance on fileMetLife has reached an $80 million settlement with life insurance beneficiaries who claim that the company did not work in beneficiaries’ best interest when investing funds. Allegedly, this action violated the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act (ERISA), which requires plan administrators to act in the best interest of plan beneficiaries when administering plans by private employers.

The MetLife life insurance benefits class action settlement was reached after five years of intense litigation and arms-length negotiations. Of the $80 million settlement, $75 million will be paid to one nationwide Class, with the remaining $5 million will go to another nationwide Class.

The Class receiving $75 million is composed of around 120,000 people who had MetLife life insurance benefit plans with MetLife through employee group plans and for whom MetLift set up Total Control Accounts between April 2008 and December 2012. These plans are governed by ERISA.

The Class who will receive $5 million from the settlement funds is composed of multiple types of beneficiaries, totaling around 129,000 members. Those included in this Class are those for whom MetLife set up Total Control Accounts between January 2013 and March 2019, and those who had MetLife policies between April 2008 and December 2012 and who are excluded from the first Class.

Per the distribution plan of the MetLife class action settlement, MetLife will permit a settlement administrator to administer funds based on the amount of interest they would have received for their retirement funds. The funds will be sent via check to Class Members and checks will be valid for 120 days after distribution.

The amount of money that each person will receive will be based on a percentage of the total amount of interest credited to Class Members between April 30, 2008 and March 31, 2019. If the amount locate to a Class Member is less than $10.00, that Class Member will receive no benefits.

Counsel for Class Members expressed approval of the MetLife class action settlement deal, saying that the deal presents “substantial befits” to the members, and saying that the settlement was fair and reasonable. Class Members and MetLife have agreed to settle the claims to avoid the potential costs and risks associated with continued litigation.

The MetLife insurance benefits class action lawsuit was filed by Laura A. Owens and Joshua R. Smith. The two claimed that MetLife unlawfully borrowed insurance benefit funds and invested them for the company’s own profit as opposed to for the benefit of the beneficiaries.

According to the MetLife class action, this violated the Employee Retirement Income Securities Act, because the plan administrator allegedly did not uphold their fiduciary duties and act in the best interest of the class.

The Class Members are represented by John C. Bell Jr. and Lee W. Brigham of Bell & Brigham, William Gregory Dobson and Michael J. Lober & Dobson LLC, Jason J. Carter and Michael B. Terry of Bondurant Mixson & Elmore LLP, John W. Oxendine, and Todd L. Lord.

The MetLife ERISA Violation Class Action Lawsuit is Owens, et al. v. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co., Case No. 2:14-cv-00074, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

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51 thoughts onMetLife Class Action Ends In $80M ERISA Settlement

  1. Rachel Brown says:

    My dad had met life insurance for years when he passed in 2013 I was beneficiary. I got nothing as far as this check for lawsuit goes. Knew nothing of this…Is it too late? Who do I contact?

  2. Sean Fitzgerald says:

    Can someone please tell me how I didn’t receive anything about this check I was supposed to get .

  3. Louise Preniczky says:

    Do I have to pay taxes on this?

  4. Rosemarie Cortez-Kudo says:

    They are claiming I got a check for $1,623.03, which I never got.. Person on the phone over the holidays claims I cash it which is not TRUE.. Reporting inaccurate information to IRS is crap.. I want to know who to call the only check I got was $240.06 which I got in November and finally did deposit it.. That’s the only DAM check I got.. Please someone better call me before I get in touch with IRS for reporting FRAUD information on my SSI#

  5. Holly says:

    I need a phone# to contact the settlement Administrator.
    I got a check for $59.20 but the 1099 days $600. Where is the first check?

  6. Carolyn Scott says:

    I need a phone number to call these people on this

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