Heygood, Orr & Pearson recently received notice of their success on appeal in their defense of a client in a theft of trade secrets case. The client is a company involved in the sale of investments known as life settlements.
A group of investors has filed a class action lawsuit against the ratings agency S&P Global, life expectancy provider 21st Services, Wells Fargo Bank, and other entities over the sale of life settlement investments. The lawsuit alleges that S&P misled investors in the Lifetrade Fund by giving the fund an investment-grade rating for years despite…
Earlier this year, a division of American International Group agreed to settle a $2 billion lawsuit filed against a leading provider of life settlement investments. The lawsuit, filed by AIG’s Lavastone Capital LLC, alleged that actions by the Philadelphia-based Coventry First LLC caused Lavastone to pay about $160 million in hidden fees on life settlements…
The Georgia state legislature has passed a new law that will help to ensure that life insurance policy holders in the state are better informed about their right to sell unwanted insurance in the form of life settlements. The new law, known as the Life Insurance Consumer Disclosure Act, requires that the insurance company send a…
State legislatures in Kentucky, Maine, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin have passed disclosure laws in order to ensure that life insurance policy holders are properly informed of their rights to sell these policies in the form of life settlements. Several lawsuits have been filed on behalf of insured individuals against life insurance companies that allegedly failed…
A recent survey has found that despite recent growth in the life settlements industry, these financial transactions remain misunderstood by many financial advisors. According to the survey by the Lifeline Program and WealthManagement.com, some financial advisors are confused about state and federal laws surrounding the sale of life settlements, or mistakenly believe that these transactions…
In a landmark ruling for companies involved in the life settlement industry, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has ruled that the insurable interest requirement for life settlement investments under Minnesota law is satisfied as soon as an individual takes out an insurance policy on their own life, regardless of any…
A group of British life settlement investors is planning to file a class action lawsuit against a UK financial regulatory agency whose actions they allege may have cost them millions in investments. The proposed lawsuit by the Life Settlements Action Group against Britain’s Financial Services Authority involves nearly 2,700 investors and nearly $900 million in…
The Securities and Exchange Commission has accused the life settlements company Life Partners and its executives with fraud in connection with the marketing of their investment product. Life Partners is also facing lawsuits from investors who have alleged that Life Partners fraudulently misrepresented the value of the investments which they were sold.
A life settlement is the sale of an existing life insurance policy by the policyholder (who is typically an ill and/or elderly person) to another party. The policy is sold at a discount to the face amount. The policyholder receives a cash payment while the purchaser takes an ownership interest in the policy. The purchaser…
The U.S. Department of Justice has announced that Kelly Taylor Gipson has been ordered to federal prison for 48 months and ordered to pay $9.6 million to victims of a life settlement investment fraud scheme. Gipson was accused along with Charles Craig Jordan of misappropriating investor funds which ultimately resulted in policies lapsing and investors…
The Texas federal judge overseeing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit against Life Partners Holdings Inc. has issued a pair of rulings as the parties prepare for a jury trial. First, U.S. District Judge James Nowlin denied a request from Life Partners to reconsider an earlier ruling by the court determining that life settlements…