Quinn team collecting 40m files in €1bn claim

An estimated 40m documents are being collected for the action by the joint administrators of Quinn Insurance claiming €1bn damages against Price waterhouseCoopers, over alleged negligent auditing, the High Court has heard.

Should the administrators win their case, listed for hearing in 2016, any damages recovered will be used to partly or fully repay the State’s Insurance Compensation Fund, from which some €1.158bn has been drawn down to date to meet claims of Quinn policy holders. Further draw-downs are expected.

President of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, rejected an offer by Bernard Dunleavy, counsel for the joint administrators, for lawyers handling the PwC case to give an “unvarnished” view of the prospects for success in that litigation, saying it could make the court “almost a player”.

He said he would read the administrators’ report over the coming days and send for counsel should he need clarification.

Arising out of the administration, €1.158bn has been paid out of the compensation fund resulting in a 2% levy on all non-life insurance policies.