June 16, 2004 – LAWFUEL – Allen & Overy has won in the Hague Court of Appeal on behalf of
creditors against life insurer Vie d’Or – it has been 10 years since the life insurer went bankrupt. KPMG estimates the damages at e80
million.

In an unprecedented move, it ruled that the Dutch Pension and
Insurance Chamber (which supervises the insurance industry in the
Netherlands) is jointly liable with the auditors (Deloitte) and a
former actuary of Vie d’Or.

Vie d’Or was a life insurance company, which went through a
spectacular growth in the first half of the nineties but went bankrupt
shortly thereafter. The Hague District Court had ruled in 2001 that
Vie d’Or’s former auditors, Deloitte, were liable for the damages
suffered by former policyholders. The Hague Court of Appeal confirmed
this judgment and in an unprecedented decision, ruled that the Dutch
Pension and Insurance Chamber (which supervises the insurance industry
in the Netherlands) is jointly liable with the auditors and a former
actuary of Vie d’Or, for the full damages suffered by policy-holders
as a consequence of Vie d’Or’s bankruptcy.

Commenting on the judgement, A&O Litigation partner in charge Arnold
Croiset van Uchelen said: “This judgment is a maximum outcome for the
former policyholders and other creditors of Vie d’Or. Ten years after
its bankruptcy, it should now pave the way for the settlement of their
damages.”