Lloyd's names fail in claim against government based on failure to implement insurance directive

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to report and comment on the Court of Appeal, Poole and Others v. HM Treasury.Design/methodology/approachThe paper outlines the facts surrounding the case and comments on the ruling.FindingsLord Justice Buxton gave the only judgment in this appeal, with which his fellow judges concurred, and he confirmed that the lower Court was right to dismiss the appellants' claim based on their interpretation of the 1973 insurance directive and the effect of the European Court of Justice decision in Francovich.Originality/valueThe Court of Appeal, in this decision, confirms that the principles of European law surrounding state liability are unlikely to be of much help to those who suffer such losses and see them partly as a result of state or regulatory failure.