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

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report and comment on the Court of Appeal, Poole and Others v. HM Treasury. Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines the facts surrounding the case and comments on the ruling. Findings – Lord 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/value – The 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.