Some Executive Life Insurance Company policyholders want California Attorney General William Lockyer to look into state insurance regulators' handling of the Executive Life case.[@@]
A federal judge in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge Howard Matz, has ordered Artemis S.A., Paris, to pay about $190 million in damages plus interest in connection with the allegations of fraud stemming from a 1991 takeover of Executive Life, Los Angeles.
The new ruling brings total damages to be paid by several companies involved in the takeover of Executive Life to about $900 million, but the damages total is too low, according to Vince Watson, executive director of the Executive Life Action Network, a group that represents Executive Life policyholders.
"I really think that by the time the other interests get their cut, there will be little left over for the policyholders," Watson says.
Executive Life failed as a result of the collapse of the market for low-rated bonds, and California regulators accepted a $3.2 billion offer for the company's bond portfolio from a subsidiary of Credit Lyonnais, a company that was owned by the French government.
At the time, California prohibited foreign governments from buying California insurance companies.
California insurance regulators have accused Artemis, a company owned by a French billionaire, of helping to hide the bank's illegal role in the purchase of Executive Life.
Several major French parties involved agreed in December 2003 to pay $771 million to resolve a civil case.