Raymond Patenaude v. The Equitable Life Assurance Society Of The United States

290 F.3d 1020 Raymond PATENAUDE, on behalf of himself and the general public, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. The EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES; AXA Advisors, LLC; Equitable Distributors, Inc., Defendants-Appellees. No. 00-56913. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted March 5, 2002. Filed May 14, 2002. COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED Michael C. Spencer, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP, New York, NY, for the plaintiff-appellant. Charles C. Platt, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, LLP, New York, NY, for the defendants-appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California; Judith N. Keep, Chief Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-00-01437-JNK. Before: THOMAS, RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges and ARMSTRONG, 1 District Judge. THOMAS, Circuit Judge. 1 This appeal presents the question of whether tax-deferred variable annuities are covered securities under the Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act of 1998 ("SLUSA"), Pub.L. No. 105-353, 112 Stat. 3227 (codified in scattered sections of 15 U.S.C.). We conclude that they are, and affirm the judgment of the district court. 2 * Raymond Patenaude sought…