Florida fraud case awaits Bermuda court decisions

A lawsuit in Florida alleging fraud in relation to CATCo and its former CEO Tony Belisle has been stayed, as the American court awaits Bermuda Supreme Court decisions on the insolvency and winding down of Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance funds, Artemis has reported.

The suit alleges that “seismic losses” suffered by the Markel CATCo retro reinsurance funds in 2017 were far beyond risks explained to the investors and that Belisle misrepresented the risks of an investment in the Markel CATCo retrocessional reinsurance investment strategy.

The claim is that it caused the investor to suffer larger than anticipated losses based on the CATCo fund’s marketing materials and messaging from the CEO.

The suit was brought on behalf of HWH Realty Holdings LLC, an investment company owned by German billionaire Hans-Werner Hector, a co-founder of the tech firm SAP.

Artemis reports that the investor is claiming damages from the former Markel CATCo CEO, after it lost nearly $20 million from its 2017 investment in the CATCo fund.

But the legal action is stayed, pending developments in the Markel CATCo insolvency in Bermuda.

Markel CATCo’s proposed buyout process and schemes of arrangement for the remaining assets its fund strategies hold, awaits the Bermuda Supreme Court decision allowing it to proceed.

Tony Belisle requested a stay through either mid-February or the Bermuda court ruling, because “the decision of the Bermuda Supreme Court concerning the convening of meetings for the proposed schemes of arrangement may bear on how the parties proceed in this litigation.”

The judge in the Florida proceedings approved the stay, agreeing with the defendant that the Bermuda court’s decision on the schemes of arrangement could affect his case, as well.