Montana

Montana legal foundation receives $1.2M for role in lawsuit

Posted: Sep 21, 2012 7:53 AM by MTN News

A Montana legal foundation will soon receive more than $1 million as part of a class action lawsuit against insurance giant Farmers Group Inc.

The suit spanned nearly a decade and affected more than 160,000 Montanans and alleged that Farmers had charged excessive fees to its customers.

Concerns over the original $455 million settlement surfaced when customers complained about the extensive process required to claim their share.

Montana Insurance Commissioner Monica Lindeen objected, arguing that some of the unclaimed funds should be returned to the states affected.

As a result, Montana will be the main recipient of those funds for leading the effort to fight the proposed settlement.

"We objected to that settlement because we felt the process for actually getting any money back to Montana policy holders was incredibly cumbersome. And so cumbersome, Montanans were not applying for it," Lindeen said.

The Montana Justice Foundation, a nonprofit group that assists Montanans who cannot afford to pay for legal assistance, will get $1.2 million as a result of Lindeen's efforts. The Foundation expects to receive the money within the next thirty days.