Veritas Independent Partners, LLC v. The Ohio National Life Insurance Company et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
WESTERN DIVISION
VERITAS INDEPENDENT
PARTNERS, LLC, et al., on behalf of all
others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs,
v.
THE OHIO NATIONAL LIFE
INSURANCE COMPANY, et al.,
Defendants.
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Case No. 1:18-cv-769
Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins
ORDER
This matter is before the Court on the parties’ joint motion requesting an order
dropping Plaintiff Avantax Investment Services, Inc. from this action and dismissing its
claims with prejudice (the “Joint Motion”) pursuant to Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure. Rule 21 provides that “[o]n motion or on its own, the court may at any time, on
just terms, add or drop a party.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 21. Courts in the Sixth Circuit have decided
that Rule 21 is the appropriate “procedural vehicle for dropping fewer than all the claims or
parties.” Espinosa v. First Advantage Background Servs., 343 F.R.D. 414, 415 (S.D. Ohio 2023)
(collecting cases).
For good cause shown, the Court hereby GRANTS the Joint Motion. It is therefore
ORDERED that Avantax Investment Services, Inc. (“Avantax”) is dropped from this case as
a Plaintiff and that its claims against Defendants, and any potential claims between Avantax
and Defendants related to ONcore annuity trail commissions, that could have been raised in
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or were raised in this lawsuit, are hereby dismissed with prejudice. Neither Avantax nor
Defendants shall be deemed a prevailing party for any purpose and shall bear their own costs.
This Order relates to Avantax only. Nothing in the Motion seeks to impact, nor does
this Order impact, the continuing status and claims (and Defendants’ defenses to the claims)
of Plaintiff Veritas Independent Partners, LLC, which remains a Plaintiff in this action.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
December 1, 2025
Jeffery P. Hopkins
United States District Judge
Case: 1:18-cv-00769-JPH Doc #: 168 Filed: 12/01/25 Page: 2 of 2 PAGEID #: <pageID>