A family has been ordered by a Deemster to halt proceedings in the Italian courts and pay £44,000 in costs following a dispute over life assurance products.

Annamaria, Corrado and the late Gerolamo Ripamonti have been told that they must pursue any claim for damages in the Manx court.

The Ripamontis took out the policies with Switzerland-based Novium AG in 2013.

But the application documentation recorded that the contracts would be underwritten and issued in the Isle of Man and would be subject to Isle of Man law.

Gerolamo Ripamonti died in October 2020.

Annamaria and Corrado Ripamonti launched legal proceedings in the Court of Lecco, Lombardy, Italy, seeking repayment of the sums invested and damages.

They claimed that the policies, although presented as life assurance products, were in substance highly speculative financial products, that substantial sums were lost and that the policies are void or give rise to contractual or pre-contractual liability.

In July last year, Hansard International, the Isle of Man-based international life assurance business, sent ‘cease and desist’ correspondence requiring the Italian claims to be discontinued.

At the end of July this year, the High Court in Douglas made an order declaring that the Ripamontis had acted in breach of clause 22 of the relevant life assurance contracts by beginning and continuing proceedings in the Court of Lecco.

No acknowledgment of service, evidence, defence or skeleton argument was filed by the defendants.

The order permanently restrains them from pursuing the proceedings or launching other foreign proceedings in connection with the contracts, and requires them, as soon as practicable, to withdraw or stay their legal action in Italy.

Deemster Alan Gough has now handed down a judgment setting out in full the reasons for the order that was made.

He ruled it was ‘just and convenient’ to grant a final prohibitory injunction and that clause 22 in the policy documentation was ‘clear and unequivocal’, specifying both Manx law and the exclusive jurisdiction of the Isle of Man court.

There was no evidential basis for concluding that clause 22 was ‘hidden, unusual or insufficiently incorporated’, he said.

The Deemster insisted that the order did not deprive the Ripamontis of access to justice.

He explained: ‘It requires them to bring any claim arising out of or in connection with the policies in the Isle of Man, which is the forum they accepted.

‘They remain free to advance in this court every properly arguable challenge to the policies and every remedy available under the applicable law.’

The Deemster said the claimant was entitled to its costs.

Taking account of ‘reasonableness and proportionality’, he assessed the costs at £44,000 inclusive of VAT, payable by the defendants jointly and severally.

Deemster Gough concluded: ‘The defendants have made no appearance and therefore no representations to the court regarding their position, the facts of the case appear to be clear and no dispute has been raised by the defendants in relation to them.

‘There is then not much more to say.’