Securities & Exchange Commission v. Life Partners Holdings, Inc.

41 F. Supp. 3d 550, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188661
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedNovember 19, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 1-12-CV-00033-JRN
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 41 F. Supp. 3d 550 (Securities & Exchange Commission v. Life Partners Holdings, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Securities & Exchange Commission v. Life Partners Holdings, Inc., 41 F. Supp. 3d 550, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188661 (W.D. Tex. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

JAMES R. NOWLIN, District Judge.

Before the Court is Defendants Life Partners Holdings, Inc. (“Life Partners” or “LPHI”) and R. Scott Peden’s (collectively “Defendants”) Motion for Summary Judgment. (Dkt. No. 110). For reasons set out below, the Court denies Defendants’ Motion.

I. BACKGROUND

Defendants move for Partial Summary Judgment on the SEC’s claims against them related to their alleged failure to disclose systematic and material understatement of life expectancies (“LEs”) they utilized in the sale of life insurance policies in the secondary market (“life settlements”). Defendants raise a variety of arguments in support of their motion. Specifically, Defendants argue that (1) the court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case because the business, practices of LPI are not a proper subject for this case; (2) events occurring-before or after the period of January 2007 to November 30, 2011 (which Defendants refer to as the “relevant period”) are not germane to Plaintiffs allegations; (3) the evidence conclusively establishes that LEs do not in any way [553]*553impact Life Partners’ pricing or revenue; (4) the evidence conclusively demonstrates that Life Partners did not underestimate its LEs during the relevant period, and even if they did, they could not have known that they were doing so; (5) the evidence conclusively establishes that Peden’s massive June sale of 19% of his Life Partners’ stock was not based on inside information; and (finally) (6) the evidence conclusively demonstrates that LPHI’s assets were properly impaired.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

The court must grant summary judgment if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(a); Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323-25, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Washburn v. Harvey, 504 F.3d 505, 508 (5th Cir.2007). A dispute regarding a material fact is “genuine” if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict in favor of the nonmoving party. Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court is required to view all inferences drawn from the factual record in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party. See Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio, 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986); Washburn, 504 F.3d at 508.

Once the moving party has made an initial showing that there is no evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case, the party opposing the motion must come forward with competent summary-judgment evidence of the existence of a genuine fact issue. Matsushita, 475 U.S. at 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348. Mere conclusory allegations are not competent summary-judgment evidence, and thus are insufficient to defeat a motion for summary judgment. Turner v. Baylor Richardson Med. Ctr., 476 F.3d 337, 343 (5th Cir.2007). Unsubstantiated assertions, improbable inferences, and unsupported speculation are not competent summary-judgment evidence. Id. The party opposing summary judgment is required to identify specific evidence in the record and to articulate the precise manner in which that evidence supports his claim. Adams v. Travelers Indem. Co. of Conn., 465 F.3d 156, 164 (5th Cir.2006). Rule 56 does not impose a duty on the court to “sift through the record in search of evidence” to support the nonmovant’s opposition to the motion for summary judgment. Id. “Only disputes over facts that might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing laws will properly preclude the entry of summary judgment.” Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. Disputed fact issues which are “irrelevant and unnecessary” will not be considered by a court in ruling on a summary judgment motion. Id. If the nonmoving party fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to its case and on which it will bear the burden of proof at trial, summary judgment must be granted. Celotex, 477 U.S. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548.

III. ANALYSIS

A. The Court Has Subject Matter Jurisdiction.

Defendants argue that the Court lacks jurisdiction to hear this case because (1) LPI is not a named Defendant and (2) the life settlements at issue in this case are not “securities” under federal securities law. (Dkt. No. 110 at 9). For reasons set out in detail below, the Court rejects Defendants arguments

(i) LPI’s business is LPHI’s business, as well as the source of its revenues.

In their motion, Defendants argue that LPI and LPHI are distinguishable [554]*554entities and that, therefore, the Court should dismiss all of the claims that are based in part on LPI’s business since LPI is not a named Defendant in this case. The' Court disagrees. The record is literally stocked with evidence demonstrating that there is no meaningful difference between LPI and LPHI. For instance, LPI and LPHI share physical offices and have a consolidated Board of Directors. (Dkt. No. 135-4 at 7). Along the same lines, the two companies file consolidated financial statements and LPHI reports on LPI’s litigation in its annual reports.. (Id. at 10). Miller v. MSX-IBS Holding, Inc., No. 09-cv-15046, 2012 WL 458486, at *7 (E.D.Mich. Feb. 13, 2012) (holding that consolidated financials are usually necessary for a fair presentation when one of the entities in the consolidated group directly or indirectly has a controlling financial interest in the other entities). Indeed, even LPHI’s employees and managers do not appear to distinguish between the two entities: Defendant Peden testified that “LPI is an operating subsidiary” and that “LPHI is a holding company, so it has no employees or operations.” (Id. at 7). Additionally, in its public filings, LPHI repeatedly refers to itself and LPI interchangeably: “[w]e are a specialty financial services company, providing purchasing services for life settlements to our client base...[w]e facilitate these transactions by identifying, examining, and purchasing the policies as agent for the purchasers.” (LPHI 2010 Form 10K at 3).

Given that LPHI has no income except that which comes from LPI’s business operations, the Court is at a loss to find a single meaningful difference between LPHI’s business and LPI’s business. (Peden 7/23/13 Dep., 35:24-36:3). Consequently, the Court holds that while LPI may not be a named defendant in this action, its business conduct is germane to the issues in this case. See, e.g., In re Global Crossing, Ltd., Sec. Litig., No. 02-Civ-910, 2005 WL 1875445, at *4, 2005 U.S. Dist. Lexis 16232, at *11 (S.D.N.Y. Aug.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
41 F. Supp. 3d 550, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 188661, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/securities-exchange-commission-v-life-partners-holdings-inc-txwd-2013.