SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The law firm of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been brought on behalf of all persons who purchased or acquired the securities of Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (“Life Partners” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: LPHI) between May 29, 2007 and January 19, 2011, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
If you purchased Life Partners securities during the Class Period, you may move the Court for appointment as lead plaintiff by no later than April 4, 2011. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your share of any recovery in this action will not be affected by your decision of whether to seek appointment as lead plaintiff. You may retain Lieff Cabraser, or other attorneys, as your counsel in this action.
Life Partners shareholders who wish to learn more about this action and how to seek appointment as lead plaintiff may visit Lieff Cabraser’s website at www.lieffcabraser.com/cases.php?CaseID=438 or contact Sharon Lee toll free at (800) 541-7358.
Background on Life Partners Securities Class Litigation
The action, pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, was brought against Life Partners and certain of its officers and directors for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Life Partners, headquartered in Waco, Texas, describes itself as a financial services company and the parent company of Life Partners, Inc. which engages in the secondary market for life insurance known generally as “life settlements.” Life Partners facilitates life settlement transactions which involve the sale of existing life insurance policies to purchasers who receive the death benefits under a policy when the insured dies.
The action alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made material misrepresentations and omissions regarding Life Partners’s business and prospects. Specifically, defendants allegedly failed to disclose: (1) that Life Partners routinely used unrealistically short life expectancy estimates for life settlement policies it sold to investors; (2) that a significant number of individuals insured by policies sold by Life Partners lived beyond the life expectancy estimates provided to investors; (3) that by underestimating the life expectancy rates, Life Partners was able to charge investors large fees for brokering the life settlement policies and, thereby, significantly increase its revenues; (5) that, as a result, the Company's financial statements were false and misleading at all relevant times; and (6) that the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls.
On December 21, 2010, The Wall Street Journal published an article on its investigation into Life Partners’s life-expectancy estimates and business practices. The Journal noted that Life Partners “has made large fees from its life-insurance transactions while often significantly underestimating the life expectancies of people whose policies its customers invest in.” On January 20, 2011, the Journal reported, and the Company subsequently confirmed, that the SEC was investigating Life Partners concerning its life expectancy estimates. On this news, the price of the Company’s common stock fell $2.58 per share, or more than 17 percent, to close at $12.46 per share on January 20, 2011, on unusually heavy trading volume.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville, is a nationally recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility.
Since 2003, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs’ law firms in the nation. In compiling the list, the National Law Journal examined recent verdicts and settlements in addition to overall track records. Lieff Cabraser is one of only two plaintiffs’ law firms in the United States to receive this honor for the last eight consecutive years.
For more information about Lieff Cabraser and the firm’s representation of investors, please visit http://www.lieffcabraser.com.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.