Favorable Decision for Executive Life Victim Trevor Langkamp

Trevor Langkamp was the recipient of one of the dreaded notices from the New York Liquidation Bureau in December, 2011 telling him that his annuity benefits from Executive Life Insurance Company of New York would be cut. The liquidation of Executive Life Insurance Company of New York (ELNY) was finalized in April, 2012 and despite the best efforts of Edward Stone Law, reductions in annuity benefits took effect on August 8, 2013.

Langkamp was injured in a fire when he was just 17 months old at a U.S. Army facility, and Langkamp’s parents sued the United States.  In 1984 Langkamp and the United States settled their lawsuit.  The U.S. purchased two Executive Life annuities to provide a lifetime of periodic payments to Langkamp. In 2013, with the ELNY liquidation finalized, Langkamp’s periodic payments were cut by more than 40%. Langkamp filed suit against the U.S. in the Court of Claims in 2015, seeking to hold the United States liable for his shortfall.  He lost at the trial level, with the court dismissing his claims and holding that “the government has not unequivocally agreed to guarantee the monthly and periodic lump-sum payments required under the [settlement] agreement.” On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that the trial court had erred in holding that the U.S. had no continuing liability for Langkamp’s periodic payments, and remanded the case to the Court of Claims for proceedings consistent with its opinion.  Looks like Mr. Langkamp will be one of the few Executive Life shortfall victims to recover his shortfall from the United States.