Romano v. John Hancock Life Insurance

If you are a trustee of a defined-contribution employee benefit plan covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) with which John Hancock had group annuity contracts and recordkeeping agreements at any time from March 25, 2013, through December 23, 2021, and that have, since March 25, 2013, allocated assets through John Hancock’s Signature Platform to International Investment Options that have passed through foreign tax credits to John Hancock, you may have legal rights and options that you may exercise on behalf of your plan before the Court decides this case.

The purpose of this informational litigation website is to provide details of a pending class action in the Southern District of Florida entitled Eric Romano, et al. v. John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.), No. 19-cv-21147-Goodman. The Court has “certified” this case to move forward as a class action and your rights and the rights of your plan may be affected. These rights and options — and the deadlines to exercise them — are explained on this website. Please read this website carefully.

Plaintiffs allege that Defendant John Hancock breached fiduciary duties under ERISA. Specifically, Plaintiffs allege that John Hancock improperly retained the benefit of foreign tax credits arising from the investments of Plaintiffs and the Class without passing through a commensurate benefit to Plaintiffs or the Class.

John Hancock denies that it has done anything wrong. John Hancock’s defense is that, among other things, Plaintiffs have received all the benefits and services that Plaintiffs bargained for, and that they are seeking relief to which they are not entitled under applicable law. John Hancock asserts that it has complied with all of its legal obligations, and has delivered high quality recordkeeping services at reasonable and competitive fees.

The Court has not formed any opinion concerning the merits of the case. The Court has not ruled in favor of or against Plaintiffs on the merits of the claims that Plaintiffs bring on behalf of the Class, nor has the Court ruled against John Hancock.