Appeals court finds Ontario Names liable

The Ontario Court of Appeals has turned down the appeals of Lloyd’s investors, or Names, in that province who were seeking to avoid paying monies sought by the U.K. insurance market. Justices Laskin, Goudge and Feldman unanimously agreed to uphold lower court rulings allowing Lloyd’s to enforce British judgements against the Names.Justice Feldman called the story “a worldwide investment disaster”, which saw certain investors from Ontario finding themselves liable for losses sustained by the market, along with other Names from around the world. The Ontario Names had argued that they were denied the opportunity to litigate their allegations of fraud against Lloyd’s, allegations that the market concealed the magnitude of risks associated with U.S. asbestosis claims during the mid-1980s, as well as other long-tail risks. In 1996, Lloyd’s made an offer with its Names to settle these claims, but certain Names, including those involved in the Ontario case, resisted paying into the settlement. Lloyd’s subsequently sought action to recover the money. In essence, the Ontario Court finds that judgements made by the English courts, which favored Lloyd’s, should stand.The Ontario case can be furthered appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada.