Sun Life Facing Potential LTD Benefits Class Action Lawsuit
Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada (Sun Life) is currently facing a proposed class action lawsuit for $10 million. The case was recently filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.
The Sun Life class action lawsuit alleges that the company willfully miscalculated cost-of-living increases for clients receiving long-term disability benefits. The lawsuit alleges that Sun Life willfully violated its own policies when it miscalculated monthly long-term disability payments made to some of its policyholders.
Sun Life allegedly applied cost-of-living increases to benefits payments after deducting recipients’ pension-related income. However, according to the company’s policies, cost-of-living increases should have been factored into benefits payments before applying the cost of these deductions. This action may have resulted in a lower cost-of-living increase than benefits recipients should have received.
If you have been collecting long-term disability payments from Sun Life and believe that the company did not properly pay your benefits, you may decide to speak with a lawyer now, while the class action lawsuit’s development is still in its infancy.
Individuals Involved in the Proposed Sun Life Class Action Lawsuit
The lead plaintiff in the proposed class action lawsuit against Sun Life worked for the federal government for 37 years and retired due to medical reasons in 2011. Their claim alleges that Sun Life was aware the company had been improperly compensating benefits recipients for over twenty years but has still not done anything to remedy the error.
The proposed class members in this lawsuit include all federal government employees covered under a specific Sun Life policy who collected long-term disability benefits between April 1997 and the present day.
Since other Sun Life policyholders received long-term disability benefits through this specific policy during the specified timeframe, government employees may not be the only benefits recipients to have been issued incorrectly calculated payments.
If you received long-term disability benefits from Sun Life between April 30 1997 and the present day, and you believe the insurance company did not calculate your benefits correctly, a long-term disability claims lawyer may be able to provide you with useful insights about this developing class action lawsuit.
Damages Sought in the Class Action Lawsuit with Sun Life
Sun Life faces allegations that the company may have intentionally violated the terms of its own policies when calculating the costs of long-term disability payments to some of its benefits recipients for more than two decades.
The class action lawsuit against Sun Life is seeking $10 million in punitive and exemplary damages. Instead of simply providing compensation to the lawsuit’s class members for incorrectly calculated benefits payments, the proposed punitive and exemplary damages are intended to punish Sun Life for their allegedly intentional actions.
Understanding Class Action Lawsuits in Ontario
Class action lawsuits can last for several years, especially if the lawsuit has a large, diverse group of plaintiffs, collectively referred to as a “class.” Any individual can be included in the class, as long as they are part of the aggrieved group, and have suffered damages related to the lawsuit’s claims.
Individual class members seeking damages may be required to demonstrate how severely they were impacted by the subject of the lawsuit. If successful, individual class members may then be able to receive compensation from a settlement fund. This fund may be under the supervision of a court-appointed administrator.
Certification for the Sun Life Class Action Lawsuit
The proposed class action lawsuit against Sun Life is still in its early stages. Before the lawsuit may proceed, it may need to be certified by the court. Certification for a class action lawsuit requires the court to:
- Complete a certification hearing
- Approve a representative litigant
- Set parameters for members of the class
As the lawsuit moves through the court system, additional information about Sun Life’s alleged miscalculation of benefits payments resulting from incorrectly adjusted cost-of-living increases may still come to light. In the years to come, we may learn more details regarding the nature of this case.
Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers Today
If you received long-term disability benefits from Sun Life and believe your monthly payment costs were incorrectly calculated, you may qualify to participate in the proposed class action lawsuit. To discuss your situation in a free, initial consultation, call Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE.
