Lloyd’s Investors Win U.S. Appeals Ruling

A federal appeals court upheld a request by hundreds of American investors in Lloyd’s of London that they be allowed to sue the insurance syndicate under U.S. securities laws. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a 1995 lower-court ruling that the investors have to file suit in Britain under British law, as provided in the original contracts between London-based Lloyd’s and most of its investors. The appeals court held that U.S. law supersedes these contracts. More than 200 investors, or names, who pledged their entire estates to cover loss claims on Lloyd’s policies have accused the syndicate of fraud and negligence in failing to disclose its full exposure to claims.