Opinion
17-CV-2987 17-CV-6087 17- CV-7034 18- CV-128 18-CV-2416
03-29-2022
IN RE LIFETRADE LITIGATION
ORDER
J. PAUL OETKEN, DISTRICT JUDGE.
On April 24, 2017, Plaintiffs Luis Ramiro Aviles, et al., filed a complaint against S&P Global, Inc., et al. (See Dkt. No. 1 (“Compl.”).) Plaintiffs are offshore investors who lost the entirety of their investments in the Lifetrade Fund, B.V. (See Compl. ¶ 1.) Lifetrade invested exclusively in a secondary market for life insurance policies. (See Compl. ¶ 2.) The complaint alleges that Plaintiffs were led to believe that these life settlements were “an alternative asset class, not correlated with the price of stocks or bonds, ” but that was not true. (Compl. ¶ 4.) Among other things, the complaint asserts claims for fraud and negligent misrepresentation. (See Compl. ¶¶ 97-114.)
Since then, other Plaintiffs have filed similar suits in this Court. To date, the following four actions have been assigned or reassigned to the undersigned:
1. Benedetto, et al. v. ATC Realty Fifteen, Inc., No. 17-CV-6087
2. Acebedo, et al. v. ATC Realty Fifteen, Inc., No. 17-CV-7034
3. Alvarez, et al. v. ATC Realty Fifteen, Inc., No. 18-CV-128
4. Areco, et al. v. ATC Realty Fifteen, Inc., No. 18-CV-2416
Magistrate Judge Parker ordered these cases consolidated under case number 17-CV-2987. (See Dkt. No. 168.) All filings in the member cases shall be in the lead case. Despite such consolidation, the consolidated cases “retain their separate identities.” Hall v. Hall, 138 S.Ct. 1118, 1128-31 (2018). For administrative purposes, the Clerk of Court is directed to close the other four actions listed above. This order does not affect the rights of the parties in any of the consolidated cases.
SO ORDERED.