Who is a Class Member
You are included in the Prudential Life Insurance “Alliance Accounts” class action settlement if you were a “beneficiary of employee benefit plans that were sponsored by JPMorgan Chase Bank, Inc. and Con-way, Inc. and insured by The Prudential Life Insurance Company of America, whose death benefits were paid using an Alliance Account instead of a check between September 30, 2004 and October 31, 2011.”
If you don’t qualify for this settlement, check out our database of other class action settlements you may be eligible for.
Settlement Amount
- $9,000,000.00
Estimated Award
- TBD
Eligible Class Members’ payouts will vary, depending on the size of the life insurance benefit, how long the Alliance Account was open, the amount of interest credited to the Alliance Account, and the passage of time.. Note: Class members whose calculated payout is less than $5.00 will not receive a payout.
Proof of Purchase
- N/A
Claim Form
- N/A: You do not need to submit a claim form. If the settlement is approved and your expected payout is more than $5.00, a check will be mailed to you. If there is an appeal, checks will not be issued until the appeal is resolved and the order approving the settlement is approved by the appeals court.
Prudential Life Insurance “Alliance Accounts” Settlement Notes
- Clark R. Huffman et. al v. The Prudential Insurance Company of America
- Case No. 2:10-cv-05135-JFL
- Pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
Plaintiff Clark Huffman filed this class action lawsuit challenging Prudential’s use of retained asset accounts, known as Alliance Accounts, to settle claims for life insurance benefits due under its’ plans.
A retained asset account is a method of settling claims in which an insurance company:
- establishes an interest-bearing account through a bank for the beneficiary
- issues the beneficiary a book of blank drafts that resembles a checkbook to use to access the settlement amount, and
- retains and invests the money owed to the beneficiary until it is called upon to transfer funds to the bank to cover drafts drawn on the account
Huffman’s complaint contends that Prudential’s use of Alliance Accounts to settle claims is illegal because the applicable insurance policies provide that benefits will be paid to the beneficiary in “one sum” unless the beneficiary requests another form of payment, and allege that the practice is unfair because Prudential keeps for itself most of the profits it earns investing the money owed to the beneficiaries.
The Prudential Insurance lawsuit further alleges that the company’s practice is improper because Prudential controls how much income it receives from the practice and does not disclose this income to the plans.
Prudential denies that the allegations and says that its conduct with respect to settling claims via Alliance Accounts is not governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) but agreed to settle to the tune of $9 million to avoid further litigation costs.Complete details about the case and settlement are provided on the Prudential Life Insurance Alliance Accounts settlement website.
Class members who wish to object to the Prudential Life Insurance Alliance Accounts settlement must do so by February 12, 2019. Class members who wish to participate in the settlement do not need to do anything.
Important Dates
- N/A: Claim Form Deadline
- 2/12/19: Objection Deadline
- 4/2/19: Final Hearing at 9:00 am ET* (class members do not need to attend this hearing in order to receive a slice of the settlement pie).
*Settlement Class Members who wish to speak at the hearing should check the settlement website at www.HuffmanClassAction.com to confirm that the date or time of the Hearing has not been changed.
Contact Information
- Mail: Huffman Class Action, c/o Settlement Administrator, PO Box 23369, Jacksonville, FL 32241
- Phone: 1-888-262-6044
- Email: info@huffmanclassaction.com
Class Counsel
- John C. Bell Jr. and Lee W. Brigham of Kickham Hanley PLLC
- Cary L. Flitter of Flitter Lorenz PC
- M. Scott Barrett of Barrett Wylie LLC
- Stuart T. Rossman of The National Consumer Law Center
Settlement Website
- www.HuffmanClassAction.com