Claimants in multi-million pound case call for Isle of Man Government to cover cost of retrial

Claimants in a multi-million pound class action against Friends Provident and the Utmost Group have called for the Manx Government to cover the costs of a retrial.

Their call came after the Acting Deemster resigned without handing down judgment two years after the trial.

Dates for the judgment to be handed down were set no fewer than seven times. But each deadline was missed and then on June 6 this year, Acting Deemster James Corbett KC resigned on the grounds of ill health.

The court has confirmed the case will now go to a retrial and it is seeking to hire a retired English High Court judge to hear the proceedings.

Since the trial in 2024, 17 claimants have passed away, and the prospect of further delay risks more claimants dying before the case is resolved.

Closing submissions in the £120m-plus compensation battle against Utmost (formerly Old Mutual/Quilter) and Friends Provident (FPI) concluded in May 2024, following a seven-week trial in Douglas High Court.

The claimants are primarily British pensioners, many of whom invested their life savings through life assurance ‘wrappers’ in a number of high risk funds that later collapsed, leaving their investments worthless and often forcing them out of retirement or leaving them stranded abroad.

Niall Coburn, managing director of Coburn Corporate intelligence which manages the case on behalf of investors, said claimants are facing potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds in further legal costs relating to a retrial that is ‘entirely not their fault’.

He said: ‘The government should do the right thing and cover further costs in the case.’

Mr Coburn said it was unacceptable that judgment had not been handed down in the 18 months leading to the Deemster’s illness.

Since his resignation as an Acting Deemster, Mr Corbett KC has joined 2 New Street Chambers in Leicester as a door tenant, and in May 2026 joined Albert Wolff Chambers in Australia.

Andrew Walters, a claimant in the case against Utmost Group, said: ‘It has now been more than 15 years since my investment with Utmost Group (formerly Skandia) collapsed in value, forcing me out of retirement, and yet we are still fighting for compensation for our losses.

‘We should not be forced to pay the costs of any retrial caused by the judiciary’s failures.’

Ron Leeman, a claimant in the case against FPI, said: ‘Since the investment of my life savings through Friends Provident entirely collapsed in value in 2013, I have been surviving on a frozen state pension in Thailand, which barely covers my day-to-day living costs.

‘I do not want to be the next investor to die before the conclusion of this case.

‘This case is a shameful indictment of the Isle of Man justice system. The Manx authorities should commit to paying the costs of a retrial caused by their failures.’

The General Registry said in a statement: ‘The lawyers for the claimants have written to the General Registry seeking clarification on several points, including the costs of a retrial, and their correspondence is currently being considered.’