Sally Noel bid to bring Lloyd's 'fraud' case quashed.

(From Lloyds List)

Byline: Judges rule out replay of issues, writes James Brewer

APPEAL Court judges have quashed an attempt by Sally Noel, one of the harshest critics of the conduct of Lloyd's leadership in the 1980s, to bring a case alleging the society committed fraud.

It was the latest legal defeat for disgruntled names who have sought to blame the society for losses inflicted on thousands of people who were attracted into what appeared to be a buoyant market, only to find a mass of asbestos and other long-tail claims emerging.

Most of the names accepted Lloyd's reconstruction and renewal plan, which involved them paying substantial sums into the special vehicle Equitas which ring fenced the pre-1993 liabilities, but Mrs Noel is among those resisting, and she and others face bankruptcy.

Lord Justice Brooke, vice-president of the Court of Appeal civil division, and Lord Justice Wilson insisted that the issues had been dealt with in the unsuccessful case brought by Sir William Jaffray in 2000.

The judges, who had examined a 56-point written and oral argument from Mrs Noel, supported by 200 pages of documents, refused to allow her to appeal the decision of Mr Justice Cooke in May 2004 to strike out her case against the Corporation of Lloyd's, the estates of former chairman Ian Findlay and Sir Peter Green, and against former chairmen Sir Peter Miller and Sir David Rowland.