Manulife

1. This class action is on behalf of all persons resident in Ontario, Barbados and elsewhere who owned a participating policy of life insurance issued by or assumed by The Manufacturer's Life Insurance Company, Barbados branch:

(a) that was issued to a policy holder in Barbados;
(b) that was in force, terminated but capable of reinstatement, or had an outstanding claim, all as of December 31, 1994; and
(c) that was transferred by Manulife to Life of Barbados (now known as Sagicor) pursuant to a written agreement of purchase and sale dated May 30, 1996 and completed on December 31, 1996.

2. If you are the holder of a participating policy of life insurance issued or assumed by Manulife that was in force on December 31, 1994 and have not registered, please do so now.  If you have already registered and have friends, relatives, or know of other eligible persons who have not registered who are also owners of Manulife participating policies of life insurance, please encourage them to register on this site. Failure to register may result in a delay in receipt of any compensation to which a person may be entitled in the class action. We need to be able to find you and all other class members.

3.The amended further fresh statement of claim asserts a claim for damages for negligence and breach of fiduciary duty and seeks an order that Manulife pay to the members of the class the same compensation that it paid to each of its eligible policyholders under its plan of demutualization.

4. The court has adjourned the trial, originally scheduled to commence on April 11, 2011, to commence on March 5, 2012 and has set aside eight weeks for the trial to be completed.

5. On September 30, 2002, Mr. Justice Nordheimer released his reasons for decision certifying the action as a class proceeding. The certification order may be reviewed here.

6. On November 13, 2002 Mr. Justice Nordheimer released his supplementary reasons-costs and awarded the plaintiffs their costs of the certification motion and the rule 21 motion fixed at CDN $430,350. The two orders may be reviewed here.

7. Media Coverage in Barbados of the action may be reviewed here.

8. On February 6, 2003 the plaintiffs and their counsel held an Information Session at the Sherbourne Conference Centre in Barbados. Approximately 1,100 persons attended. Harvey Strosberg explained the status of the action and the timetable for its continued prosecution leading up to the trial of the common issues. Pictures of the meeting may be viewed here.

9. The examinations for discovery of the representative plaintiffs and representatives of Manulife began on August 12, 2003 and were completed on July 27, 2005.

10. Class counsel held a third public information session about the class action at the Sherbourne Conference Centre in Barbados on Wednesday, November 3, 2004. Over 400 persons attended. Further details can be reviewed here.

11. If you would like to speak to someone at Sutts, Strosberg LLP about this class action, please use our toll free line 1.800.229.5323, extension 296.

12. If you would like to know more about how a class action works, please click here.