Phillip Stano is a partner in Sutherland’s Financial Services Litigation Practice Group. He focuses his practice on complex class action, market conduct, financial services litigation and counseling (e.g. retained asset accounts, unclaimed property), and government relations. He is currently lead counsel in dozens of class action and other cases in state and federal courts nationwide.
Phillip regularly represents annuity, life, long-term care, health, title, and property and casualty insurers in “bet-the-company” litigation. He previously served as chief litigation counsel at the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), where he filed more than 350 briefs on significant issues affecting insurers marketing life, annuity, disability, long-term care and health insurance products. Beyond litigation responsibilities, Phillip organized and directed ACLI’s class action, state tort/judicial reform, insurer legal privileges, arbitration and insurance anti-fraud legislative reform efforts. Prior to ACLI, he was Assistant Attorney General and General Counsel of the Alabama Insurance Department, where he litigated numerous civil matters at the trial and appellate levels. Phillip has extensive experience in insurer rehabilitation and liquidation proceedings.
Phillip is a frequent speaker on insurance matters. He has published numerous insurance articles and has lectured before the American Bar Association, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Association of Life Insurance Counsel, National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and American Council of Life Insurers.
REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Examples of Phillip’s recent extensive litigation experience include the following:
- Representing SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation and Federal National Mortgage Association in Dunston v. SunTrust Mortgage, Inc., No. 10-cv-1208 (U.S.D.C. D.C. 2012).
- Representing Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company, Lawyers Title Insurance Company, and Transnation Title Insurance Company in Coll v. First American Title Ins. Co., No. 08-2174, 2011 WL 1549233 (10th Cir. Apr. 26, 2011).
- Representing New York Life Insurance Company in Schandler v. New York Life Ins. Co., No. 11-2123 (2nd Cir. 2011).
- Representing Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Clark v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co., No. 10-17071 (9th Cir. 2011).
- Representing New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation in Blumenthal v. New York Life Ins. and Annuity Corp., No. 10-6246 (10th Cir. 2010).
- Representing Attorneys Insurance Mutual of Alabama, Inc. in Attorneys Insurance Mutual of Alabama, Inc. v. Alabama Department of Insurance; Ala. Ct. Civ. App., No. 2081139 (2010).
- Representing LandAmerica Title Insurance Company and affiliates in multi-district litigation proceedings involving 75 anti-trust class actions in a dozen federal district courts (2009).
- Representing New York Life Insurance Co. in Friedman v. New York Life Ins. Co., 985 So. 2d 56 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 4th Dist. 2008).
- Representing New York Life Insurance and Annuity Corporation in Webster v. New York Life Ins. and Annuity Corp., 838 N.Y.S. 2d 48 (App. Div. 2007).
- Representing Protective Life Insurance Co. in Lutz v. Protective Life Ins. Co., 951 So. 2d 884 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007).
- Representing Lincoln National Life Insurance Co. in In re Mutual Funds Inv. Litigation, 384 F. Supp. 2d 845 (D. Md. 2005).
- Representing Western-Southern Life Insurance Co. in Tropp v. Western-Southern Life Ins. Co., 381 F.3d 591 (7th Cir. Ill. 2004).
- Representing General American Life Insurance Co. in In re Gen. Am. Life Ins. Co. Sale Practices Litig., 357 F.3d 800 (8th Cir. Mo. 2004).
- Representing American Heritage Life Insurance Co. in Sosa v. Am. Heritage Life Inc. Co., 2004 Tex. App. LEXIS 34 (Tex. App. San Antonio Jan. 7, 2004).
PROFESSIONAL DISTINCTIONS
- Member, Board of Directors, Attorneys Insurance Mutual of the South, Inc.
- Member, Editorial Review Board, Journal of Insurance Regulation
- Secretary-Treasurer, Association of Life Insurance Counsel (2003–2009)
- Named the American Tort Reform Association’s Legal Reform Champion (2005)
PUBLICATIONS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
- Co-author, “Unclaimed Property Developments in Life Insurance,” National Association of Life Companies (February 7, 2013)
- Co-author, “Ohio State and Federal Courts Reject Class Actions Alleging That Life Insurers Have an Affirmative Duty to Undertake Death Matches,” ABA TIPS Life Insurance Law Committee Newsletter (Summer 2012)
- Co-author, “Private Plaintiffs Seek to Require Life Insurers to Undertake Death Matches,” ABA TIPS Committee News (Winter 2012)
- Co-author, “Retained Asset Account Litigation Developments,” 2011 Association of Life Insurance Counsel Annual Meeting (May 17, 2011)
- Co-author and speaker, “Retained Asset Account Litigation Developments,” Life Insurance Council of New York (LICONY) Annual Membership Meeting (December 9, 2010)
- Co-author, “Retained Asset Account Litigation Developments,” Life Insurance Law Committee News, American Bar Association, Torts Trial & Insurance Practice Section (Summer 2010)
- Co-author, “The Enforcement of Nationwide Class Settlements to Bar Related Class Actions: An Example of Finality and Preclusion,” Class Actions & Derivative Suits, Section of Litigation Committee, American Bar Association, Vol. 14, No. 3, (Summer 2004)
- Author, “Class Litigation: The Consequences of Its Evolution From People to Products,” ABA Tort and Insurance Products Life Insurance Law Committee News (Spring 2003)
- Author, “Class Backwards: A Discussion of Developments in Market Conduct and Variable Investment Product Litigation,” The Association of Life Insurance Counsel Proceedings (2002)
- Author, “Modal Premium Litigation—Your Next Class Action Lawsuit?,” ABA Tort and Insurance Practice Life Insurance Law Committee News (Summer 2001)
- Author, “Underwriting in the 20th Century – Grafting Societal Values to the Regulation of Risk,” 19 Journal of Insurance Regulation 273 (2000)
- Author, “Recognizing Insurers’ Privileged Information (The Rationale and the Results),” 17 Journal of Insurance Regulation 268 (1999)
- Speaker, “Unclaimed Property – Navigating the Quagmire,” “FINRA Arbitration and Enforcement Actions,” “Class Action Litigation and Supreme Court Decisions,” “Recent Developments and Trends in Retirement Plan Litigation,” Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) Litigation Summit (June 18, 2013)
- Speaker, “Property Casualty Insurance: Patterns and Trends in Litigation and Public Policy,” The University of Alabama College of Continuing Studies Insurance Day 2012 (October 10, 2012)
- Speaker, Webinar: “Navigating Through Uncertainty: Life Insurance Regulation and Unclaimed Property Audits,” (November 15, 2011)
- Speaker on financial services litigation panel, The Association of Life Insurance Counsel 2009 Annual Meeting (May 4-5, 2009); co-author of program paper, “Significant Trends in Financial Services Litigation”
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