Judge gives Sears retirees a chance to regain their canceled life insurance policies

Back in March, Sears — under new ownership by Eddie Lampert's Transform Holdco — canceled the life insurance policies of about 29,000 retirees, each including death benefits worth between $5,000 and $14,500. Lawyers representing two of the retirees argued that the policies should have been protected by a 2001 settlement; Sears' lawyers disagreed. Earlier this week, however, U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Drain assigned the U.S. trustee overseeing the case to appoint a committee representing retirees, giving the former workers a chance to further pursue their claims.