Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02310/USCOURTS-casd-3_13-cv-02310-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 110
Nature of Suit: Insurance
Cause of Action: 28:1332in Diversity-Insurance Contract

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

Ernest O. Abbit, on behalf of himself 

and on behalf of all persons similarly 

situated,

Plaintiff,

v.

ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance 

Company, and ING U.S., Inc.

Defendants.

Case No. 13-CV-2310-GPC(WVG)

CLASS ACTION

ORDER DIRECTING

DISSEMINATION OF CLASS 

NOTICE

[ECF No. 75]

Case 3:13-cv-02310-GPC-WVG Document 91 Filed 04/26/16 PageID.<pageID> Page 1 of 4
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13-CV-2310-GPC(WVG)

On February 19, 2016, parties filed a Joint Proposed Class Notice 

Dissemination Plan (“Joint Plan”). ECF No. 75. Following careful consideration of

the parties’ briefing and applicable law, the Court hereby DIRECTS the following

class notice procedures:

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

1. TIMETABLE FOR NOTICE PLAN: The timetable for the Notice 

Plan, including opt-outs, shall be incorporated into the Class Notice and shall be 

triggered by the date of the issuance of this Order, as follows:

Event

Days from 

Trigger Date

Defendants provide the Notice Administrator and Class 

counsel all Class data for purposes of Notice, including 

full names, issue age, social security numbers, contract 

numbers and mailing addresses.

Within 14 days.

Notice Administrator verifies data before mailing. Class 

Counsel instructs Notice Administrator to mail Notice to 

Class members with valid addresses; posts website 

containing Notice and information about litigation; 

establishes toll-free phone information.

Within 30 days.

Notice Administrator to re-send Notice to Class members 

with undeliverable mailing addresses. Within 60 days.

Deadline for Class members to opt-out with valid written 

exclusion request. Within 75 days.

Deadline for filing with the Court the final list of opt-outs. Within 90 days.

2. NOTICE PLAN VIA FIRST CLASS MAIL: The Court finds that the 

form and manner of individual Notice by direct first-class mail satisfies the 

requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(c)(2)(B), due process, and 

constitutes the best practicable procedure under the circumstances. The Notice

Administrator shall mail the Notice via first-class mail to each known Class 

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13-CV-2310-GPC(WVG)

Member at the address provided by Defendants, based on the information contained 

in Defendants' databases, and update those addresses for which mail is returned 

with a forwarding address.

3. APPOINTMENT OF NOTICE ADMINISTRATOR: KCC/Gilardi 

shall be appointed Notice Administrator and shall work at the direction of Class 

Counsel to timely execute the Notice Plan.

4. AMENDMENT OF THE CLASS DEFINITIONS:1 The definitions 

of the certified Classes by Order dated November 16, 2015 (ECF No. 59) shall be 

amended to exclude the word “co-conspirator” as follows:

The Multi-State Class

All persons or entities, excluding defendants and their directors, 

officers, predecessors, successors, affiliates, agents, and employees, as 

well as the immediate family members of such persons, that, when a 

resident of either the state of California, Florida, Illinois, Pennsylvania 

or Texas, purchased a Secure Index fixed index annuity contract from 

ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company within the applicable 

statute of limitations.

The California Class

All persons or entities, excluding defendants and their directors, 

officers, predecessors, successors, affiliates, agents, and employees, as 

well as the immediate family members of such persons, that, when a 

 

1 Parties also urge the Court to amend the class definitions to include limitations on the applicable 

statute of limitations and the class period. Joint Plan 5. However, the Court finds that it would be 

inappropriate to decide the applicable statute of limitations and the class period based on the 

limited briefing proffered in the Joint Plan and given the posture of the case. Cf. Connecticut Ret. 

Plans & Trust Funds v. Amgen, Inc., No. CV07-2536PSG, 2009 WL 2633743, at *14 (C.D. Cal. 

Aug. 12, 2009), aff’d, 660 F.3d 1170 (9th Cir. 2011), aff’d, 133 S. Ct. 1184 (2013) (citations 

omitted) (noting that “many other district courts have held [that] evidentiary disputes concerning 

the commencement and termination dates of a proposed class period raise questions of fact going 

to the merits of the case, and are therefore not a proper subject for inquiry at the certification 

stage”); Weinberger v. Thornton, 114 F.R.D. 599, 606 (S.D. Cal. 1986) (accepting plaintiffs’

proposed time limits of the class period for the purposes of a motion for class certification).

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13-CV-2310-GPC(WVG)

resident of California, purchased a Secure Index fixed index annuity 

contract from ING USA Annuity and Life Insurance Company within 

the applicable statute of limitations.

The California Seniors Subclass

All members of the California Class that were age 65 or older on the 

date of purchase, excluding defendants and their directors, officers, 

predecessors, successors, affiliates, agents, and employees, as well as 

the immediate family members of such persons.

5. EXCLUSIONS: Any Class member who desires to opt-out of the 

Class must send a written request for exclusion to the Notice Administrator, 

postmarked no later than seventy-five (75) days of this Order. The Notice 

Administrator’s address shall be provided in the Notice to the Class members and 

shall be posted on the website. The Notice Administrator shall provide a list of 

those persons requesting exclusion to Class Counsel and Defendants' counsel after 

the deadline for exclusions passes.

6. To be effective, a written request for exclusion must contain the name 

of this lawsuit, the Class member's full name, current address and phone number, 

annuity contract number, and be signed by the Class member. The request must 

also state clearly that the person wishes to be excluded from the Class.

7. Any Class member who submits a valid and timely request for 

exclusion shall not be a Class member and shall not be bound by the orders and 

judgments of this Court. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: April 26, 2016

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