Now that the Spencer v Hartford settlement has been finalized and distribution checks have been mailed perhaps the scaremongers "firing guns into the sky" from the left wing of the settlement industry (to those trial lawyers who will listen), can stifle themselves.
The structured settlement watchdog condemns the behavior of a certain element of those that refer to themselves as "settlement professionals" or "structured settlement planners", who seek to hyper generalize the alleged former behavior of one company or another as the status quo. when nothing could be further from the truth.
With respect to Spencer v Hartford, one can sum up the proceedings with a paraphrase of Julius Caesar "They came, they saw, and they achieved a VERY nice settlement."
Dick Risk, one of the lawyers involved for the plaintiffs in the Spencer v Hartford litigaton, states on the website of The Risk law Firm:
"While the class representatives alleged that The Hartford kept 15 a total of percent of the purported cost for their own benefit, based on several components, the parties acknowledged that neither side was assured of prevailing. Ultimately the gross settlement ($72,500.000 before interest) represented about 5.1491996979478% of the total premium in question ($1,407,985,789.11). This was more than the 4% originally sought in the first complaint".
Other Resources
- Risk Law Firm Spencer v Hartford Statement of Distribution Calculations
- The Spencer v Hartford Structured Settlement Class Action Information website
- Spencer v Hartford Update by Mike Miller of Drinker Biddle Reath, LLP from March 2010 which gives a defense commentary on the case
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