Prudential Wins Round in ERISA Challenge to Benefit Payouts

Life insurance beneficiaries challenging the way Prudential Insurance Co. of America paid their benefits can’t litigate their claims in a class action, a federal judge ruled (Huffman v. Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 2016 BL 325487, E.D. Pa., No. 2:10-cv-05135, 9/30/16).

The lawsuit, first filed in 2010 by the children of a deceased JPMorgan Chase & Co. employee, contends that Prudential’s practice of paying life insurance benefits in a checkbook-style account violates federal benefits law, because it allows Prudential to continue earning interest on policy proceeds that have been distributed to their rightful owners. On ...