The investors fighting for over £120m in compensation from Utmost (formerly Old Mutual /Quilter) and Friends Provident International (FPI) will have to wait at least another year before a ruling is delivered, according to reports.
The closing submissions in the proceedings against the two Isle of Man-based insurance giants concluded in May 2024, following a seven-week trial at Douglas High Court, but the Acting Deemster who oversaw the trial, James Corbett KC, resigned on the grounds of ill health before delivering his decision.
Since the trial 24 claimants are reported to have died.
According to Isle of Man Today, a new Acting Deemster, Matthew Marsh, has been appointed to the case and tasked with delivering a judgment as soon as possible.
Marsh has set a timetable for a retrial but told a case management hearing last week: “I don’t think anyone should underestimate the enormity of the task. It’s virtually unprecedented. I can’t cure the ills – all I can do is make them less bad.
“I know I’m going to need some help. There’s a very serious risk that without some assistance the court is going to get material parts of the judgment wrong.”
