Court of Appeal ends Names litigation

The Court of Appeal has thrown out a claim by Lloyd’s of London investors that the market was behaving fraudulently.

In July 2008, the High Court in London struck out a claim brought by 50 Names—individuals who invest in the London market—against Lloyd’s alleging that the description of Reinsurance to Close (RITC) in Lloyd’s brochures and its Verification Forms back in the 1980s was fraudulent.

After a week long hearing Judge Justice David Steel found that Lloyd’s had not made any false representations with regard to RITC and that there was no evidence that Lloyd’s had acted dishonestly. Further, the Judge held that the claim was ‘unquestionably an abuse of process’. The Names appealed.

“Today's' decision is a complete vindication of Lloyd's position through a decade of litigation.

Sean McGovern, Lloyd's general counsel

The Court found that the Names’ application to appeal was ‘totally without merit’ and was ‘just part of the continuing abuse of process of the court by dissatisfied Names who are perpetually trying to find new ways of accusing Lloyd’s of fraud’. The Court held ‘The matter is made even more abusive’ by the fact previous applications to appeal earlier judgments had been dismissed

Lord Justice Longmore stated that the litigation pursued by Names ‘must now come to an end’ and he held that extended civil restraint orders against the 50 Names preventing them from pursuing fresh litigation must remain in place.

Commenting on the decision Sean McGovern, Lloyd's General Counsel said: ‘Today's' decision is a complete vindication of Lloyd's position through a decade of litigation. The decision marks the end of perpetual litigation trying to reopen matters which have been definitively laid to rest by the Court on a number of occasions.’