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National class-action status has been granted in a lawsuit in which Indianapolis-based Cohen & Malad is representing purchasers of Gerber Life Insurance Company’s Grow-Up Plan and College Plan.
The class would include more than 2 million people who paid premiums exceeding $700 million, Cohen & Malad said in a statement.
The lawsuit argues that the plans were marketed as providing long-term financial benefits for children, sold as a type of savings account that could be utilized for education and other circumstances when the child was older. However, the policies provided little turn unless the child died, according to the complaint.
Eric Wade Richardson, an attorney for Gerber Life Insurance Company at Vorys Sayer Seymour & Pease LLP, declined to comment on the class-action status or the case in general.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Kenneth M. Karas granted national class certification last month in the lawsuit against Gerber Life Insurance Company, allowing plaintiffs who purchased Gerber’s Grow-Up Plan and College Plan to proceed collectively with their claims.
The judge set Feb. 3 as the deadline for filing motions for summary judgment. Opposition motions are due by April 4.
Lead plaintiffs Emilie Norman and Josephine Loguidice allege fraudulent advertising and misrepresentation by Gerber Life and seek damages for all individuals who purchased the Grow-Up Plan or College Plan between April 2014 and October 2021.
Cohen & Malad told to Indiana Lawyer that there were thousands of Hoosier families who paid millions in premiums to Gerber Life during the timeframe of the lawsuit. While the firm has specific data on Indiana, it said a protective order prohibits it from sharing those numbers.
“This is a true win for the millions of consumers who were duped by Gerber Life into purchasing these products based on false, grossly deceptive messaging, and who otherwise might not have their day in court,” said Natalie Lyons, a plaintiff’s attorney and partner at Cohen & Malad.
She is working on the case with Cohen & Malad partner Lynn Toops. Other attorneys representing the plaintiffs are J. Gerard Stranch IV of Nashville, Jeffrey Kaliel of Washington, D.C., and James J. Bilsborrow of New York.
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