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TPG Defeats Motion to Dismiss in Insurance Bid-Rigging Class Action Case

On February 27, 2013, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania denied a motion to dismiss or compel arbitration in the secondary insurance market class-action case Griswold v. Coventry First, LLC, et al.  TPG represents the plaintiff and the alleged plaintiff class.

In October 2010, TPG filed on behalf of Lincoln Griswold a class action lawsuit against in Pennsylvania state court against Coventry First LLC and other defendants.  Griswold's Complaint alleges that a bid-rigging scheme resulted in his receiving substantially less than the fair market value of an insurance policy that he sold to Coventry in March 2008. Coventry First LLC (Fort Washington, PA) is an intermediary in the secondary market for life insurance.

After removal to federal court, the defendants filed a motion to dismiss or compel arbitration in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.  Judge C. Darnell Jones II heard argument in June 2011.  On February 27, 2013, Judge Jones denied Coventry's motion to dismiss, ruling that the plaintiffs have standing, and the plaintiffs were not signatories to the agreement containing the arbitration clause.  Judge Jones further ruled that sufficient facts were pled to establish potential racketeering activity, to be explored in discovery.
Coventry has appealed the decision to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.
Griswold v. Coventry, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Case No. 2:10-cv-5964