A federal judge has given lawyers permission to represent a class of plaintiffs who have bought equity-indexed annuities from a large Midwestern insurer.
U.S. District Judge Ann Montgomery, a judge in the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, has certified Linda L. Mooney and Lieselotte W. Thorpe, et al., v. Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America as a class action.
The legal team representing the plaintiffs includes lawyers at Page Perry L.L.C., Atlanta; the Nygaard Law Firm, Leawood, Kan.; and Chestnut & Cambronne P.A., Minneapolis.
The lawyers for the plaintiffs estimate the class could include 400,000 individuals who have bought the BonusMaxxx, BonusMaxxx Elite, BonusDex, BonusDex Elite, 10% Bonus PowerDex Elite, MasterDex 10, and the InfiniDex 10 annuity contracts from Allianz Life, Minneapolis, since Feb. 9, 2000, according to the lawyers for the plaintiffs.
The class does not include California purchasers who were over the age of 65 when they bought the annuities, according to the lawyers for the plaintiffs.
