October 9, 2024
Contact: press@justice4survivors.com, (203) 641-6681
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ROCKEFELLER UNIVERSITY’S BAD FAITH & DECEPTIVE PRACTICE CLAIMS AGAINST UNITS OF CHUBB, TRAVELERS, AND AETNA STILL STANDS
NEW YORK, NY – On Thursday, a New York state appeals court upheld a lower court’s previous ruling not to dismiss claims that insurance agencies Chubb, The Travelers Indemnity Co. and Aetna Casualty & Surety Co. acted in bad faith and conducted deceptive trade practices while managing Rockefeller University’s sexual abuse claims. The lawsuit alleges that insurers failed to pay settlements and promptly resolve Child Victims Act claims against Rockefeller University.
Insurers in New York and across the country have undertaken an unprecedented tactic of systematically refusing to pay out claims to survivors of childhood sex abuse, undermining New York State laws in the process. The insurance industry is currently facing lawsuits and complaints from religious and educational institutions, hospitals, survivors of abuse, and New York State lawmakers for standing in the way of justice.
In response the this latest development, the Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation (“CJCC”) – an independent alliance of survivors of child sex abuse, their representatives, and advocates seeking full restitution for survivors of child sex abuse – released the following statement:
“Insurers like Chubb are turning their backs on their own clients, undermining survivors of sexual trauma, and continuing to act in bad faith, all in a pathetic attempt to protect profits,” said Dave Catalfamo, Executive Director of the CJCC. “It is past time these multi-billion dollar insurance companies are held accountable. We cannot allow them to continue to ignore their responsibilities under the law.”
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The Coalition for Just and Compassionate Compensation (“CJCC”) is an independent alliance of survivors of child sex abuse, their representatives, and advocates seeking full restitution for survivors of child sex abuse. Among members of the coalition are author and journalist Stephen Jimenez, a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and longtime advocate who helped pass the Child Victims Act (CVA), and attorneys James Marsh, Founding Partner at Marsh Law Firm, Jeff Herman, Founder of Herman Law Firm, and Hillary Nappi, Partner at Hach Rose Schirripa & Cheverie, who represent thousands of sexual abuse survivors in litigation against public and private entities.