THE ATTEMPT to get financial redress for 8 000 Barbadian Manulife Insurance policyholders began yesterday when a class action suit brought by Richard Mandeville, Wismar Greaves and Anthony Bowen against the Manufacturers Life Insurance Company started in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto, Canada.
The case, in which the Barbadian plaintiffs are seeking roughly $10000 for each policyholder plus cost and interest, is expected to be heard every day until March 22, after which there will be a two-week adjournment.
Retired insurance executive Tony Kirton will be the first Barbadian on the stand after the defendants’ attorneys present their introductory defence.
Yesterday was spent introducing the plaintiffs’ case for compensation for loss of mutual status and the alleged negligence of Manulife in not protecting the rights of its Barbadian policyholders. (SP)
