JURY REACHES PARTIAL VERDICT IN EXECUTIVE LIFE CASE:

A jury reached a partial verdict in the case involving the illegal takeover of failed insurer Executive Life Insurance Company on May 9, according to the Associated Press. The jury reached seven of eight verdicts, U.S. District Court Judge A. Howard Matz said. The California Department of Insurance sued French investors six years ago. CDI said that the investors conspired to give Executive Life’s assets to Credit Lyonnais, a company owned by the French government. That would have broken insurance laws at the time. The lawsuit also accused Artemis SA of buying Executive Life’s insurance business to help Credit Lyonnais avoid a U.S. investigation. “Today is a promising day for policyholders of the former Executive Life Insurance Company,” said California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi. “The jury, in our civil lawsuit against Artemis S.A., has returned a verdict that vindicates our longstanding position. It found that Artemis, Credit Lyonnais and others engaged in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain assets from the Executive Life estate. It also fully rejected the defense’s argument that the Insurance Commissioner had knowledge of this scheme before it was uncovered. Its decision affirms the existence of the fraud that allowed the unlawful sale of Executive Life and its assets to the French group.”