Viatical & Life Settlements
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Texas v. Life Partners, Inc.

It's not dead yet. The lawsuit filed against Life Partners Inc. by the Texas attorney general's office in April 2001 suddenly gained new life.

The suit charges Life Partners with "false, deceptive and misleading acts" in the sale and subsequent dealings with investors who bought viaticated life insurance policies.

The lawsuit claims that Life Partners billed investors for monthly insurance premiums on the policies, despite contracts that promised investors would never have to pay anything more than their original purchase fee.

The state of Texas claims that Life Partners' demands "go beyond a simple misinterpretation of the contract; they are deliberate misrepresentations calculated to benefit Life Partners at the expense of its client/investors."

The lawsuit, originally filed in Travis County, was transferred to Waco, where Life Partners Inc. is based. The order to transfer the case to Waco was signed on Nov. 26, 2003 by Charles F. Campbell, a visiting judge at Travis County. The case now is under the jurisdiction of Judge Ralph Strother.

Judge Strother, a 1982 graduate of Baylor Law School in Waco, was appointed to the bench in 1999 by then-governor George W. Bush. The most prominent case over which Strother presided to date was the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the father of slain Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy against the university.

Strother, born in Limestone County, earned a master’s degree in political science from Baylor as well as his law degree. The former general counsel for Texas State Technical College, Strother also worked as a journalist, a Baylor professor, assistant district attorney, private attorney, and interim chancellor of TSTC. He served for many years as a board member of the Waco Independent School District.

The lawsuit requests an injunction to stop Life Partners from engaging in what the state considers illegal activity, as well as civil penalties that include fines. It also wants investors to be compensated for any money they were wrongfully charged. A trial date has not yet been set.

Dated: February 20, 2004