Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP Announces Class-Action Against the Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hagens Berman announced that a class-action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of Arizona on behalf of purchasers of deferred annuity contracts from The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (“VALIC”) during the period between January 1, 1974 to the present (the “Class Period”).

If you are a member of the Class described above, you may, no later than 60 days from January 8, 2010, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the Class, if you so choose. Inorder to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please call 1-800-492-2232 or contact attorney Leonard Aragon at [email protected].

The complaint charges VALIC, its successors and subsidiaries, as well as certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period defendants marketed and sold annuity contracts by making material misrepresentations and failing to disclose material facts to Plaintiffs and Class members.

According to the complaint, VALIC agents failed to disclose that the tax deferral feature of the deferred annuity was redundant and unnecessary for Class members. The complaint also claims these materially false and misleading statements and omissions fraudulently induced purchases of the deferred annuities because they give the impression that the product provides the key tax deferral benefit sought by investors, when, in fact, tax deferral is not a reason for qualified plan investors to purchase the product because any investment funding a qualified plain is already tax deferred. According to the complaint, class members were harmed by entering into expensive annuity contracts that were redundant and unnecessary.

The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, who has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud. The firm has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Phoenix, Chicago, and Boston, and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm’s reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to major positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigations.

If you have any questions concerning this action or would like to join the class, please contact us.

CONTACT: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, LLP, Leonard Aragon at 1-800-492-2232 or [email protected].

About Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro

Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro (HBSS) is a law firm with offices in Seattle, Chicago, Cambridge, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco. Named to the 2006 and 2009 Plaintiffs’ Hot List by National Law Journal, HBSS has developed a nationally recognized practice in class-action litigation. The firm has co-lead counsel in litigation to recover losses from Enron employees' retirement funds and represented Washington and 12 other states in lawsuits against the tobacco industry that resulted in the largest settlement in the history of litigation. The firm also served as counsel in several other high-profile cases including the Washington Public Power Supply litigation, which resulted in settlements of nearly $1 billion. The firm also served as co-lead counsel in a VISA/Mastercard litigation which resulted in excess of a $3 billion settlement.

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Source: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro