On January 18, 2019, Pennsylvania residents Jerome and Susan Skochin and Maryland resident Larry Huber filed a class action lawsuit against Genworth Financial, Inc. (Genworth) and Genworth Life Insurance Company (GLIC). The plaintiffs had purchased long-term care (LTC) insurance policies in 2003 and 2004 from General Electric Capital Assurance Company, a predecessor of Genworth and GLIC.
On October 30, 2019, the plaintiffs filed a notice of settlement. On January 15, 2020, the judge held a hearing, granted preliminary approval of the settlement, directed that the class notice be mailed to class members, and set the final fairness hearing for July 10, 2020. I discussed the case in No. 334 (September 26, 2019), No. 371 (May 13, 2020), and No. 377 (June 15, 2020). (See Skochin v. Genworth, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Case No. 3:19-cv-49.)
The California Department's Letter
On June 12, 2020, the California Department of Insurance (Department) sent a nine-page letter to the clerk of the court and to the settlement administrator. The letter is over the signature of Leslie Tick, Assistant Chief Counsel in the Oakland office of the Department. A footnote on the first page of her letter reads:
The Department does not assert standing in this matter, and it does not maintain that this submission is a Class-Member Objection under Federal Rule of Procedure 23(c)(5).
The first paragraph of the "Summary" begins at the bottom of the first page of the letter. Here, with a citation omitted, is that paragraph (the full letter is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post):
The Department is concerned that the Court and class members have not been provided sufficient information about the adequacy of the proposed relief. Plaintiffs reference $100 million in aggregate damages payments that class members are expected to receive pursuant to the Special Election Options, but do not attempt to assess the total value of the Special Election Options to class members. Specifically, Plaintiffs do not provide an assessment of the value of the benefits that class members must forfeit pursuant to any Special Election Option, and do not weigh the value of those forfeited benefits against the value of the reductions in premium, damages payments, or enhanced paid-up benefits that class members would receive. Ultimately, the Department is concerned that the proposed settlement may induce policyholders to forfeit policy benefits that are worth substantially more than the compensation they would receive and, conversely, that the settlement could provide Genworth with a windfall if reductions to future claim and reserve obligations greatly exceed damages paid.
After the next three paragraphs of the "Summary," the title of the next section of the letter reads: "Some of the Special Election Options may require class members to give up policy benefits that are worth much more than the compensation received." That section includes an "Analysis of Special Election Option 2" and an "Analysis of Special Election Option 3."
The next section of the letter is entitled "The proposed settlement does not include the information that would be needed to make an accurate actuarial assessment of the value of the Special Election Options." The final section of the letter, entitled "Conclusion," reads:
To its credit, the proposed settlement provides disclosures which will help class members to make informed decisions about their policies. It also appears to include cash payments that would be sufficient to return additional premiums paid by class members who would have been inclined to restructure their policy if fully informed of Genworth's intentions. And the Department is supportive of options that would allow long-term care policyholders to make informed decisions about their coverage and to adjust policy coverage levels. However, class members should not be asked to take reductions to their policy benefits that are disproportionate to the proposed cost-savings and settlement compensation.
The Initial Reply from Plaintiffs
On June 26, 2020, an attorney for the plaintiffs filed a reply in support of the motion for final approval of the settlement. He responded to various objections that had been submitted to the court by class members. Also, at the end of the reply, he included comments on the Department's letter. Those comments are entitled "The California Department of Insurance's Statement Does Not Undermine Approval of the Settlement." At the outset of that section of the reply, he showed the Department's summary paragraph quoted above. However, he did not show any of the "Conclusion" quoted above. His four-page initial reply to the Department's letter is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post.
The Supplemental Replies from Plaintiffs
On July 6, the judge issued a one-page order requiring the plaintiffs "to file a supplemental reply responding to each class member's objection individually by 12 P.M. July 8, 2020." The requirement to submit the supplemental reply in only two days probably was because the final fairness hearing was set for July 10. The order is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post.
On July 8, the same attorney for the plaintiffs filed two documents. The first is a three-page "Plaintiffs' supplemental reply in support of (1) motion for final approval of class action settlement and (2) class counsel's motion for an award of attorneys' fees and expenses and service awards to the named plaintiffs." Attached is a five-page appendix listing all the class members' objections and comments on each of them. The eight-page document is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post.
The second document is a 15-page "Joint Statement Regarding Sequence of Final Approval and Regulatory Oversight." It contains several references to regulators in California and other states. The full document is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post.
The July 10 Final Fairness Hearing
On July 10, the judge held the final fairness hearing. On that date, he issued a two-page order that the hearing will resume on July 14. He said the attorneys will receive a Zoom invitation, and explained how others who may wish to attend remotely may arrange to do so. The order is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post.
The July 14 Final Fairness Hearing
On July 14, the judge resumed the final fairness hearing. On July 18, he issued a three-page order "finding that the application for fees is not sufficiently supported to allow the Court to make the assessment necessary to ascertain whether the requested attorneys' fees are reasonable or warranted." He issued a three-page order that continued the final fairness hearing to August 7 and directed the attorneys for the plaintiffs to file a further explanation by July 27. The order is in the complimentary package offered at the end of this post.
On July 21, the judge issued an order continuing the final fairness hearing until 10:00 a.m. on August 7. On July 23, he issued an order continuing the hearing until 9:30 a.m. on September 11.
General Observations
I had intended to wait for the judge's final approval of the settlement and his closing of the Skochin case, and then write a final update. However, the delays in the completion of the final fairness hearing prompted me to post this additional update.
I had intended to wait for the judge's final approval of the settlement and his closing of the Skochin case, and then write a final update. However, the delays in the completion of the final fairness hearing prompted me to post this additional update.
When I post the final update, I do not intend to express an opinion about the fairness of the settlement from an actuarial standpoint. I am not an actuary, and I do not feel comfortable expressing such an opinion. However, I would welcome expressions of opinion by professional actuaries. The complimentary packages offered in my four blog posts on the case provide a good starting point. If you need further documents, I have easy access to all the court documents and would be happy to provide them at your request. Should you respond to this invitation, please indicate whether you prefer your opinion to be with or without attribution, and I will honor your request.
Available Material
I am offering a complimentary 42-page PDF consisting of the California Department's letter to the court (9 pages), the initial reply to the Department's letter (4 pages), the judge's July 6 order (1 page), the first supplemental reply (8 pages), the second supplemental reply (15 pages), the judge's July 10 order (2 pages), and the judge's July 18 order (3 pages). Email jmbelth@gmail.com and ask for the July 2020 package about the case of Skochin v. Genworth.