Spencer v. Hartford - 5

Hartford Financial Insurance Group announced today it has reached an agreement in principle to settle the Spencer v. Hartford class action structured settlement lawsuit resulting in a $47 million after-tax charge contingent upon court approval.

Addendum (published April 30, 2010): irrespective of Hartford's accounting results ($47 million of after-tax charges in 2010), a knowledgeable source has informed S2KM the amount of the Spencer v. Hartford settlement is $72.5 million, contingent on court approval.

The class action lawsuit was first filed in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, CT October 31, 2005. The lawsuit alleges Hartford committed Civil RICO and state-law fraud violations as part of its structured settlement program. The lawsuit and settlement potentially involve thousands of structured settlement recipients. Hartford terminated its structured settlement program in 2009.

Hartford's announcement appears as part of the company's report of first quarter financial results for 2010.

Prior S2KM reporting about Spencer v. Hartford:

• Spencer v. Hartford - 1 - summarizes the case background plus developments up to April 6, 2009.
• Spencer v. Hartford - 2 - provides S2KM commentary about the plaintiffs' allegations, potential damages, NSSTA's Code of Ethics, and selected educational discussions from the NSSTA 2009 Winter Meeting.
• Spencer v. Hartford - 3 - identifies questions and lessons resulting from Spencer v. Hartford and offers a proposed solution to improve the structured settlement industry.
• Spencer v. Hartford - 4 - reports the October 14, 2009 denial by the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals of Hartford's petition for appeal.