Judicial Praise for Our Insurance Fraud Group
Berger Montague has been recognized by federal judges for its work in the field of insurance class action litigation.
Our experienced attorneys in our Insurance Fraud Group have been singled out and praised by federal courts for their ability to develop, guide and settle extremely large and complex insurance and financial products and services class actions. For example, the Honorable Janet C. Hall recognized the extraordinary work of Berger Montague shareholder Peter R. Kahana as co-lead counsel in Spencer v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., an insurance class action on behalf of approximately 22,000 claimants in which the United States District Court on September 21, 2010 granted final approval of a $72.5 million cash settlement:
“[T]he quality of the representation provided to the plaintiffs . . . in this case has been consistently excellent . . . . [T]he defendant[s] . . . mounted throughout the course of the five years the case pended, an extremely vigorous defense . . . . [B]ut for counsel’s outstanding work in this case and substantial effort over five years, no member of the class would have recovered a penny . . . . [I]t was an extremely complex and substantial class . . . case . . . [with an] outstanding result.” Spencer v. The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc., 3:05-cv-1681 (D. Conn. 2010).
In addition, the Honorable Tanya Walton Pratt recognized the work of Mr. Kahana, together with his co-class counsel, in a November 20, 2012 Order in connection with the Court’s final approval of the settlement of plaintiffs’ tort claims in Ormond v. Anthem, Inc., an insurance class action on behalf of approximately 705,000 former policyholders seeking damages for defendants’ alleged breaches of duty in connection with the demutualization of Anthem Insurance and the related initial public offering of stock in its parent, Anthem, Inc. a/k/a WellPoint, Inc.:
“[T]his case involved Anthem’s demutualization, a complex and heavily regulated process where members liquidated their ownership interests in exchange for stock or cash . . . . First, the Court finds that the risk undertaken by Class Counsel was significant, especially considering the lack of similar cases, complex legal theories, and vigorous defense . . . . Second, as this Court has previously stated, ‘the quality of work by counsel has been impressive, and the sheer quantity of the motions practice has been astonishing’ . . . .The Court finds Class Counsel’s performance in this case was outstanding as is reflected by the result achieved.” Ormond v. Anthem, Inc., 1:05-cv-01908 (S.D. Ind. 2011) Dkt. #781, at 7-8.
No Fees Without Recovery
Berger Montague insurance and financial products and services cases are often litigated on a contingent fee basis, so plaintiffs and the class do not pay attorneys’ fees or court costs unless there is a recovery.
Contact Us To Learn More
We invite you to learn more about our Insurance Fraud Group. Berger Montague welcomes referrals from other law firms and attorneys. For more information or to schedule a confidential discussion about a potential case, please fill out the contact form on the right, email us at [email protected], or contact an Insurance Fraud Group shareholder. We are available to evaluate potential insurance and financial products and services cases without charge.