Last week, a class action lawsuit related to allegedly abusive 412(i) plans was filed in federal court in Dallas, Texas. The defendants include Indianapolis Life, Hartford, Pacific Life, American General, Economic Concepts, and Kenny Hartstein. A copy of the complaint is attached.

It is unfortunate that the life insurance companies with their deep pockets will end up paying the settlement and that those who created the abusive arrangement will probably be judgment proof. It will also be nice to see the Brian Cave law firm get its come-uppance for their flaky opinion letter. (However, the opinion letter was flaky in part because their client, Hartstein and ECI, misrepresented what they were doing to their own attorneys.)