Anatomy of the Unum Class Action: Persistence Pays Off

Now that Quadrino Schwartz has obtained class certification in a 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 — 5 years ago — Evan Schwartz and Richard Quadrino could hardly have predicted the course of events in their first-in-the-nation 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 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.