Many claimants have heard or read about the scenario: your disability insurer calls you on the phone, sends out a field agent, or sends a letter proposing a lump sum payment to “buy out” either the future of your disability claim, a disputed portion of unpaid past benefits, or both. In many instances a buy out can be a desirable outcome, but the claimant needs to understand the ramifications, have confidence that the proposed deal makes sense, and that it is the best deal available. Using experienced legal counsel can be an invaluable tool in assessing whether crafting a buyout deal is the right thing to do and in cutting the best deal possible.

One of the first considerations for a claimant already receiving benefits is to determine the likelihood of the claim being terminated if the buyout proposal is rejected. Some insurers use the fear of a claim termination as a tactic to convince the claimant to accept a lower than fair amount. If the claim may truly be on the verge of a termination, however, there needs to be an assessment of the potential costs of a lawsuit and the likelihood of winning or losing the lawsuit. Those factors are essential in arriving at a sensible buyout figure. There are tried and true methodologies we use at this stage, in order to provide our clients with the best chance of avoiding a lawsuit and securing their financial future. For more information, visit our website at: http://www.disabilityinsurancelawyers.com/practice_areas/more/negotiating-disability-settlements.

Another important piece of the puzzle is to have a realistic assessment of morbidity and mortality in order to make appropriate adjustments to the total future expected disability payments. Many claimants have missed the opportunity to receive a favorable lump sum by failing to have such an assessment. In addition, the claimant needs a thorough understanding of the “present value” concept in order to calculate the true value of the investment power of a current lump sum of future benefits.

It is also critical to know thine enemy: is the insurer testing the claimant’s mettle or really looking to buy out the claim? Different insurers use different techniques and thus having knowledge of the prior tactics of the insurer is invaluable.

When it comes to a buyout during litigation, the cost and risk factors for further litigation and the potential outcomes are much more prominent factors than in the claim context. Knowing how the litigation will play out under ERISA, for example, is critical, especially since there are land mines at every turn that can cause a claimant’s case to be dismissed entirely.

In summary, buyout strategies are complex and critical, and disability attorneys with years of experience can navigate the claimant to a successful outcome.

After Quadrino Schwartz obtained class certification in the first-of-its-kind national class action against disability insurer UnumProvident (Unum), the firm looks back at the long and hard fought battle that has preceded this critical court ruling.

When the case was filed in 2002, the attorneys at Quadrino Schwartz could hardly have predicted the course of events in their class action against UnumProvident, the disability industry giant. They knew this: the case was a serious and ground-breaking lawsuit that had a great chance to help thousands of disabled Americans. What they didn’t know was how many twists and turns there would be until that critical moment in the case: class certification.

In late 2002 and early 2003, the case was on a fast track in a federal court in Manhattan. A custom crafted evidence preservation order was obtained to preserve critical emails, yet as the order was being signed, emails were being destroyed. Those events culminated in a unique and important trial on evidence destruction in which Partner Richard Quadrino and a team of lawyers at Quadrino Schwartz took on one of the nation’s powerhouse law firms. The trial ended with critical findings of wrongdoing by UnumProvident and a massive effort to have thousands of emails restored for future use in the case.

The legal theories and approaches in the case were approved by the court when UnumProvident tried to get the case dismissed. The Court approved the method designed by Quadrino Schwartz to allow a class action aimed at reforming the practices of a Fortune 200 Company to comply with the law and stop its illegal use of financial budgets and targets in the claims process.

Another unprecedented move by Quadrino Schwartz was the seizure of files from the desks, credenzas and drawers of all of the company’s top officers to prevent further evidence destruction. A massive effort was ordered, as requested by Quadrino Schwartz, to box up and ship out 1,500 boxes of critical information to be preserved and used in the class action.

After the case was transferred to Tennessee and joined with a series of other similar cases filed in other parts of the country at a later date, the court in Tennessee tried on numerous occasions to get UnumProvident to engage in serious settlement discussions. The company refused, and the case dragged on for years.

Quadrino Schwartz never gave up the fight, however. The pressure applied by the case and the publicity from CBS 60 minutes and other media prompted a government investigation. That investigation culminated in a 48-State settlement in which UnumProvident agreed to some reforms of the company and it mailed notices to thousands of people to have their denied claims re-assessed.

The deal had significant shortcomings, however, and Quadrino Schwartz continued to push for the appropriate relief for all victims of the company’s bad faith practices. Even after many Plaintiffs settled and walked away, Quadrino Schwartz and its clients have stayed in the fight, believing that a better day was ahead and that persistence in seeking justice would see its rewards.

Now that a class is certified, Quadrino Schwartz will move into the next and critical chapter of this drama, undeterred and with a determination to see to it that complete justice is achieved for all disabled victims of UnumProvident’s profit-driven scheme. Unum has appealed the class certification decision and argument in the appeals court took place in September. A decision should be forthcoming soon.

For more information and links, visit our minisite at: http://unumprovidentclassaction.net