Continental Casualty Alternate Plan Of Care Litigation
On March 16, 2015, U.S. District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf refused to dismiss a putative class action brought by Goldenberg Schneider on behalf of policyholders against Continental Casualty Co. (Continental Casualty). The plaintiff in that case seeks to represent a class of elderly individuals who purchased long-term care insurance policies containing an Alternate Plan of Care benefit (APC) from Continental Casualty and who sought coverage pursuant to the APC for stays at alternate (nonnursing home) facilities but who had their claims wrongfully denied. The complaint also seeks injunctive relief on behalf of policyholders nationwide to stop the defendant’s wrongful conduct. The complaint alleges that Continental Casualty wrongfully refuses all APC coverage requests unless there are no traditional nursing homes in the area of the insured, a prerequisite that lacks any basis in the actual text of the APC or underlying long-term care policies. On March 16, 2015, Judge Mark L. Wolf denied Continental Casualty’s motion to dismiss the action, finding that the plaintiff asserted a viable claim that the defendant failed to act in good faith in denying her request for coverage for her stay at an assisted living facility pursuant to the APC benefit. The case is currently pending before Judge Wolf in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.