Aronstein v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., No. 20-2103 (1st Cir. 2021)
Annotate this Case
The First Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court ruling against defendant Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) and against Plaintiff's class action claims in this insurance dispute, holding that the district court did not err.
In 2003, MassMutual decided to cut the minimum guaranteed interest rates paid to purchasers of some of its annuities. MassMutual chose to change the interest rate by an endorsement that its staff warned would result in consumer confusion and introduce ambiguity into its annuity certificate. Plaintiff in this case believed that he had bought an annuity that guaranteed him three percent annual interest, but MassMutual claimed that it promised only 1.5 percent annual interest. The district court ruled against MassMutual and against Plaintiff's class action claims. The First Circuit affirmed, holding (1) the annuity did not unambiguously set the minimum guaranteed interest rate at 1.5 percent; (2) the district court did not err in denying Plaintiff's motion for class certification; and (3) MassMutual waived its challenge to prejudgment interest.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.