HARRISBURG — A woman claiming rights as the beneficiary of an insurance plan has filed a class-action lawsuit against Gemini Bakery Equipment Co., an employer, citing alleged breach of fiduciary duty and unlawful denial of benefits.
Paula Marie Jenis, as executrix of the estate of Frank M. Jenis Sr., deceased, filed a complaint on May 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania against Gemini Bakery Equipment Co., alleging that the employer allegedly violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that she has not received benefits from her deceased husband's insurance coverage. The suit says Frank M. Jenis Sr. was employed by defendant from January 2008 until the time of his death on May 23, 2015 and that he was qualified for long-term disability benefits beginning Nov. 1, 2013, until his death. The plaintiff holds Gemini Bakery Equipment Co. responsible because the defendant allegedly terminated its group coverage and ceased paying premiums for the plan on Feb. 28, 2014 as it chose a new plan carrier, failed to notify the decedent with a notice of his option to convert his life insurance from the group plan to an individual policy and denied plaintiff's application for life insurance benefits under the plan, alleging that the decedent was no longer insured at the time of his death.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgement against defendant in an amount of $300,000, attorney's fees and costs and for any further relief that is necessary and appropriate. She is represented by Cheryl A. Garber of Garber Law LLC in Doylestown.
U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:16-cv-02117