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Law360 (December 11, 2020, 3:39 PM EST) -- A California federal judge has appointed Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and Miller Schirger LLC to serve as co-lead counsel in multidistrict litigation against several insurance companies amid claims that skiers were not refunded their passholder fees when Vail Resorts closed its slopes indefinitely during the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers on Thursday handed down her order appointing Rachel E. Schwartz of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and John Schirger of Miller Schirger LLC — collectively called the Schwartz Schirger Group — to act as co-lead and interim class counsel for the MDL's proposed classes.
Insurance companies United Specialty Insurance Co., American Claims Management Inc. and Beecher Carlson Insurance LLC are named as defendants in the case that the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation transferred to the court on Oct. 2. The MDL combines seven individual cases filed in Judge Rogers' court this year.
"The court anticipates that all issues referenced in the individual cases will be addressed in a consolidated complaint and that the individual cases can be administratively terminated," Judge Rogers wrote, adding that the consolidated complaint must be filed no later than Dec. 24.
According to one of the individual suits, filed on April 10 by Bursor & Fisher PA on behalf of three passholders, Vail Resorts Management Co. is refusing to refund skiers' passholder fees even though it closed all of its mountain resorts indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. The suit slammed the refund refusal as "unconscionable" as the economy tanks and claimed it's a violation of California consumer protection laws.
Vail Resorts operates more than 30 ski resorts across the United States and offers "Epic Passes" for unlimited skiing that cost anywhere from $67 for a day to $979 for the year, according to the putative class action lodged on April 10 by California resident and passholder Brian Hunt. He was later joined in his individual suit by two other passholders on April 29.
On March 25, Vail Resorts announced it was closing all of its mountain resorts for the rest of the 2019-2020 winter ski season, Hunt said in the suit. However, it has no plans to refund any consumers for their lost mountain resort access or allow them to transfer passes to another ski season, he said.
That means customers who didn't have a chance to use all of their purchased passes get "zero consideration or compensation for their inability to use those unused, purchased days, even if they wanted to," Hunt said.
Hunt's initial complaint only named Vail Resorts as a defendant, while the amended April 29 complaint also named United Specialty Insurance, American Claims Management and Beecher Carlson Insurance.
Hunt's law firm, Bursor & Fisher, lost the MDL counsel leadership fight, as did the Potts Law Firm. On Dec. 1, both Bursor & Fisher and Potts had submitted applications for lead or co-lead counsel, as well as the two firms that Judge Rogers ultimately selected.
An individual suit filed April 23 by Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and John Schirger of Miller Schirger LLC only names United Specialty Insurance as a defendant. In the suit, passholder Ann C. Hoak says she purchased an "Epic Pass" from Vail Resorts for $939 on Sept. 3, 2019, and on the same day she bought a ski pass insurance policy from USIC for $32.
On April 7, Hoak said, she notified USIC through its authorized representative, American Claims Management, that she was owed compensation of $654 for her unusable ski pass.
But on April 10, American Claims said in a letter that it had carefully reviewed the insurance policy as well as the factual basis of the presented claim, but was not making or recommending payment "because it was still determining whether coverage exists," according to Hoak.
"Plaintiff and other purchasers of USIC's pass insurance have made timely claim for payment of the benefits due under their policies, but USIC has failed to make payment without just cause or excuse," Hoak said.
Representatives for Schwartz, Schirger, Bursor & Fisher, Potts and the insurance companies did not immediately respond Friday to requests for comment.
Rachel E. Schwartz of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and John Schirger of Miller Schirger LLC, collectively called the Schwartz Schirger Group, are representing the proposed MDL class against the resort company.
Hunt is represented by Yeremey Krivoshey, Brittany S. Scott and Scott A. Bursor of Bursor & Fisher PA.
The insurance companies are represented by Justin J. Fields and James J. Regan of Duane Morris LLP.
The MDL case is In re: United Specialty Insurance Company Ski Pass Insurance Litigation, 4:20-md-02975, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
--Additional reporting by Hailey Konnath. Editing by Ellen Johnson.
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