China Life Insurance Company Limited - Securities Class Action

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Copyright (c) 2001
Stanford Law School

China Life Insurance Company Limited Summary: The original complaint charges China Life and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. China Life is a life insurance company in China. The Company sells its products through an extensive distribution network of exclusive agents, direct sales representatives and dedicated and non-dedicated agencies throughout China.

Specifically, the complaint alleges China Life has existed in its current form since June 2003, when it was formed to cherry-pick healthier policies from its parent company, China Life Insurance Company. Following the Company's road show in New York just prior to the IPO, China Life's IPO was about 25 times oversubscribed and triggered the sort of frenzy that was reminiscent of the Internet bubble. The IPO was priced at $18.68 on December 16, 2003.

The complaint alleges that during the class period, defendants knew, but failed to disclose the following adverse facts: (i) that the Company, under its old name, and/or its predecessor or parent engaged in a massive financial fraud to the tune of $652 million; (ii) that at the time of the IPO, the National Audit Office of China ('NAO') had completed and/or was imminently about to publish its adverse audit findings of the predecessor company which, under a new name, controls the listed company, China Life; (iii) that the predecessor company, under a different name, engaged in criminal acts involving illegal agent services, illegal premium payments, embezzlement and depositing monies in illegal bank accounts; and (iv) that China Life's share price would be tied to the illegal acts already known to the defendants, two-thirds of whom were directors/executive officers and/or senior managers of the predecessor company. As a result of the defendants' false statements, China Life's stock price traded at inflated levels during the Class Period, increasing to as high as $34.75 on December 29, 2003, shortly after the Company sold more than $3 billion worth of its own shares.

Further, the complaint alleges that on February 4, 2004, China's state audit office said on its Web site that it had found the equivalent of about $652 million worth of irregularities involving China Life's predecessor company and/or parent company. In a statement on the NAO Web site, Li Jinhua, head of the NAO, was quoted as saying that in its national audit last year, the office found irregularities at China Life Insurance Company, including 2.4 billion yuan involving illegal agent services and premium payments, 2.5 billion yuan in embezzled funds and 31.79 million yuan deposited in illegal bank accounts (the equivalent of $652 million).

According to the Company’s Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008, the lawsuits were consolidated as In re China Life Insurance Company Limited Securities Litigation, NO. 04 CV 2112 (TPG). The consolidated amended complaint in the lawsuit, filed on January 19, 2005, named China Life and three former directors as defendants, and alleged that they violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. China Life vigorously contested the lawsuit, including by filing motions seeking dismissal of the complaints. On September 3, 2008, the New York Southern District Court found that the plaintiffs’ claims lacked merit and dismissed the complaint. The plaintiffs initially notified the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit of their intention to appeal the New York Southern District Court’s decision. However, on January 8, 2009, the plaintiffs voluntarily withdrew that appeal, thus making the New York Southern District Court’s dismissal of their claims final.

INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION:
SIC Code: 6311
Sector: Financial
Industry: Insurance (Life)

COMPANY/ISSUER NAME:	China Life Insurance Company Limited
COMPANY/ISSUER TICKER:	LFC
COMPANY WEBSITE:

FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT IN THE DATABASE

Roy Van Broekhuizen, et al. v. China Life Insurance Company Limited, et al.

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 04-CV-2112
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Kimba M. Wood
DATE FILED: 03/16/2004	SOURCE: Business Wires
CLASS PERIOD START: 12/22/2003	CLASS PERIOD END: 02/03/2004
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Complaint (Unamended and Unconsolidated)
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Bull & Lifshitz 18 East 41st St., New York, NY, 10017 (voice) 212.213.6222, (fax) 212.213.9405, Cauley Geller Bowman Coates & Rudman, LLP (New York) 200 Broadhollow, Suite 406, Melville, NY, 11747 (voice) 631.367.7100, (fax) 631.367.1173, Federman & Sherwood (Oklahoma City) 120 North Robinson, Suite 2720, Oklahoma City, OK, 73102 (voice) 405-235-1560, (fax) , wfederman@aol.com Geller Rudman, PLLC. 197 South Federal Highway, Suite 200, Boca Raton, FL, 33432 (voice) 561.750.3000, (fax) 888.262.3131, info@geller-rudman.com Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP (New York, NY) One Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, NY, 10119-1065 (voice) 212.594.5300, (fax) , Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP 275 Madison Ave 34th Flr, New York, NY, 10016 (voice) 212.682.1818, (fax) 212.682.1892, email@murrayfrank.com Schiffrin & Barroway LLP 3 Bala Plaza E, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 19004 (voice) 610.667.7706, (fax) 610.667.7056, info@sbclasslaw.com Strauss & Troy The Federal Reserve Building, 150 East Fourth Street, Cincinnati, OH, 45202-4018 (voice) 513.621.2120, (fax) 513.241.8250, wlwoods@strauss-troy.com Stull, Stull & Brody (New York) 6 East 45th Street, New York, NY, 10017 (voice) 310.209.2468, (fax) 310.209.2087, SSBNY@aol.com Weiss & Yourman (New York, NY) The French Building, 551 Fifth Ave., Suite 1600, New York, NY, 10126 (voice) 212.682.3025, (fax) 212.682.3010, info@wyca.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 10

DOCUMENTS FOR THE FIRST IDENTIFIED COMPLAINT
Class Action Complaint For Violation Of The Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 03/16/2004
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 06/14/2004
Order Of Consolidation And Appointment Of Lead Plaintiffs And Plaintiffs' Co-Lead Counsel
Type: Order of Consolidation		Date on the document: 09/14/2004

REFERENCE COMPLAINT

In Re: China Life Insurance Company Limited Securities Litigation

COURT: S.D. New York	DOCKET NUMBER: 04-CV-2112
JUDGE NAME: Hon. Thomas P. Griesa
DATE FILED: 10/11/2005	SOURCE: Business Wires
CLASS PERIOD START: 12/17/2003	CLASS PERIOD END: 04/28/2004
TYPE OF COMPLAINT: Consolidated Complaint
PLAINTIFF FIRMS NAMED IN COMPLAINT:
Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbin (San Francisco) 100 Pine Street, Suite 2600, San Francisco, CA, 94111 (voice) 415.288.4545, (fax) 415.288.4534, info@lerachlaw.com Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (Melville) 58 South Service Road, Suite 200, Melville, NY, 11747 (voice) 631.367.7100, (fax) 631.367.1173, Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman LLP (New York) One Pennsylvania Plaza, 49th Floor, New York, NY, 10119 (voice) 212.594.5300, (fax) 212.868.1229, info@milbergweiss.com _____________________________________________ TOTAL NUMBER OF PLAINTIFF FIRMS: 3

DOCUMENTS FOR THE REFERENCE COMPLAINT
Consolidated Complaint For Violation Of Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 01/18/2005
Amended Consolidated Complaint for Violation of Federal Securities Laws
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 10/11/2005
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 08/16/2006
Opinion
Type: Order		Date on the document: 09/03/2008
Judgment
Type: Other		Date on the document: 09/12/2008
Notice Of Appeal
Type: Notice of Appeal		Date on the document: 10/14/2008
U.S. District Court Civil Docket
Type: Docket		Date on the document: 01/31/2009

OTHER DOCUMENTS
Class Action Complaint For Violation Of The Federal Securities Laws
Case Name and/or Number: Schutte
Type: Complaint		Date on the document: 03/22/2004
China Life Mandate
Case Name and/or Number: In Re: China Life Insurance Company Limited Securities Litigation
Type: Order		Date on the document: 01/08/2009

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