Court Rejects Propose Class in Lawsuit Alleging that CIGNA Overcharged for Prescription Drugs

In Negron v. Cigna Health and Life Ins., the Plaintiffs alleged that CIGNA misinterpreted their standardized group health plans and caused pharmacies to charge participants with higher copays than was proper. Plaintiffs sought to certify a class of all participants in the various group health plans that CIGNA administers, seeking to recover the alleged overpayments. The United States District Court for the District of Connecticut rejected this request, holding that there were material differences between the template plan documents that would need to be evaluated to resolve plaintiffs’ claims. Because these claims thus could not be resolved in one stroke, no class could be certified.

The Plaintiffs vowed to file an amended class certification motion that would more narrowly define the class to take into account the Court’s concerns. To be successful, however, the Plaintiffs will not only have to substantively demonstrate that class certification is appropriate, but explain procedurally why they are entitled to a second bite at the apple.