Investigations

Americo Annuity Sales

We are investigating allegations on behalf of teachers, hospital, non-profit organization employees, state government employee plans, and others who were sold deferred annuities to fund tax-qualified retirement plants, like IRAs, 401(k), and 403(b) plans.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, insurance products, including annuities, are exempt from income taxation on their inside investment build-up (earnings). The main economic value of a deferred annuity (as opposed to a payout annuity) is to act as a wealth accumulation device that confers tax advantages, including tax deferral of earnings and the ability to switch among different investment accounts inside the annuity without triggering current taxation. The tax advantages of investing through a deferred annuity insurance product are, however, unnecessary for persons funding retirement plans that are already tax deferred regardless of the investment used in the plan (e.g. 403(b) plans, 401(k) plans, and IRA rollovers).

It has been alleged that companies like Americo have nevertheless targeted sales of deferred annuities to persons seeking to fund these tax-qualified retirement plans. These companies allegedly conceal from purchasers that they were paying for a specialized tax-sheltered investment product inside an already tax-sheltered retirement account. If this happened to you, you were being charged for something you already had.

If you were sold a deferred annuity and you already had a tax-qualified retirement plan (like an IRA, 401(k), or 403(b)), by Americo or any other company, you may be entitled to damages, including fees and costs. For further information, contact the class action attorneys at Feazell & Tighe, LLP at austin@feazell-tighe.com or 877-508-0588 for a free and confidential consultation.

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Selling Deferred Annuities to Seniors

We have found indications that insurance companies and their agents inappropriately push deferred annuities on senior citizens throughout the country. These annuities are bad senior retirement investments because they do not mature for 15 or 20 years, often beyond the elderly person’s life expectancy. Also, they carry prohibitive surrender charges if cashed in before the maturation date. As a result, seniors’ money is locked up for years, and the victims or their loved ones are forced to pay high surrender charges if they need to get it out early. Annuity fraud lawsuits have been filed against Amerus Group Co., American Investors Life Insurance Company, and Senior Benefit Services for allegedly carrying out an illegal and fraudulent scheme to market and sell deferred annuities to senior citizens.

We are investigating similar practices by other companies. For further information, contact the class action attorneys at Feazell & Tighe, LLP at austin@feazell-tighe.com or 877-508-0588 for a free and confidential consultation.

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Rental Car Benefits under Your Auto Insurance Policy

We recently settled a national class action against Nationwide Insurance alleging that Nationwide prematurely terminated the car rental benefits that it owes its policyholders when it made its “offer” to settle its automobile policyholders’ total loss claims. In that case, certified by the Federal Court for the Northern District of Ohio, we asserted that the insurance policy endorsements that Nationwide issued to plaintiffs and the class do not permit an early termination at the time that an “offer” to settle is made. For more information, visit www.nationwideclassaction.com.

If you were involved in an automobile accident where your car was determined to be a total loss, and where your insurance company paid for you to have a rental car, you may be owed money if your insurance company told you to return the rental car before you had accepted the total loss offer. The standard practice is for the insurance agent to make a total loss settlement offer, and then before you say yes, no, or otherwise, to tell you that your rental car had to be returned in the next couple or few days. For further information, contact the class action attorneys at Feazell & Tighe, LLP at austin@feazell-tighe.com or 877-508-0588 for a free and confidential consultation.

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Life Insurance Benefits Fraud

We are investigating allegations that life insurance companies do not properly distribute or invest death benefits, and in fact, fraudulently represent how those funds are maintained, cheating beneficiaries out of thousands of dollars in interest. If you are a beneficiary of a life insurance policy whose benefits have been placed into a money market or other account by the insurance company, you may be entitled to damages including unpaid interest. For further information, contact the class action attorneys at Feazell & Tighe, LLP at austin@feazell-tighe.com or 877-508-0588 for a free and confidential consultation.

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Home Buyers: Chicago Title Recording Fees

We have been involved in a lawsuit against Chicago Title involving thirteen states over the last four years. Chicago Title collects various “recording fees” during and after residential real estate closings. These fees are purportedly to pay to governmental recording entities, e.g. county clerks, for recording the transaction documents. Actually, Chicago Title pays only a portion of the recording fees collected to the government recording entity (e.g. the county), or in some cases perhaps nothing at all, and keeps the remaining money for itself, rather than refunding it to the home buyer. In fact, we believe the evidence we have uncovered shows that Chicago Title kept track of the exact over-charges, and know how much each consumer was rightfully owed. In a previous case filed against it on these same facts, Chicago Title returned millions of dollars to a class of Illinois consumers.

If you were involved in the purchase or sale of a home or other property where Chicago Title was paid a recording fee, you may be entitled to damages, including a return of the fee you were charged. For further information, contact the class action attorneys at Feazell & Tighe, LLP at austin@feazell-tighe.com or 877-508-0588 for a free and confidential consultation.

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Labor and Employment Actions

Class actions can often be brought for violations of employment laws, where a group of employees were all subject to the same illegal practice. Our attorneys specialize in class action litigation representing employees for overtime pay violations, misclassification and other wage and hour violations. Some common wage and hour violations include failure of employees to provide the following:

  • Adequate Breaks and Meal Periods;
  • Proper compensation for overtime worked;
  • Earned Vacation Time;
  • Compensation for time spent “donning and doffing” gear;
  • Prompt payment at the time of termination.

If you and your co-workers have experienced the same problems at work, and these problems seem to be the result of your employer’s unlawful activities, then you may be able to bring a class action or a collective action against your employer. If you think your employer may have violated your rights, please contact the class action attorneys at Feazell & Tighe, LLP ataustin@feazell-tighe.com or 877-508-0588 for a free and confidential consultation.

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