A Deemster has ruled against establishing common factual issues in a major group claim involving at least 1,500 claimants against three insurance providers.
The claimants alleged that Utmost International Isle of Man Limited, Utmost PanEurope DAC and Friends Provident International Limited colluded with financial advisers to cause losses through portfolio bonds, which they deny.
They have been seeking to bind all claimants to findings from a proposed 20-person test case.
However, acting Deemster Rosen KC has said he is “not satisfied that in this case it is necessary to make a direction as to any common factual issues in the case”.
He noted the evolving nature of the claims and the lack of a “general agreement” between brokers and defendants applicable to all claimants.
Context
Advocates representing the firms argued that evidence in the test case might not determine outcomes for other claimants.
Deemster Rosen acknowledged this, saying: “There may be different evidence, the timing may be different, the context may be different.”
He added that “the risk of injustice to a non-test claimant in adopting the common issue as binding on them” was too significant.
The ruling preserves individual claimants’ rights while allowing the test case to proceed.
You can read the full judgment below:
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