21 Dec 2012

Appeal Court rules in favour of ex-Bridgecorp director

9:39 am on 21 December 2012

The Court of Appeal has ruled former Bridgecorp director Peter Steigrad can claim against a directors' and officers' insurance policy.

The court overturned an earlier High Court decision that he couldn't access Bridgecorp's liability insurance with QBE Insurance of up to $20 million, which indemnified him and other directors against liability they might incur as a result of their actions as directors.

Steigrad is serving nine months home detention for Securities Act offences related to Bridgecorp's 2007 collapse .

He and fellow directors face a $442 million lawsuit being brought by Bridgecorp's receivers for breaching their duties.

The Court of Appeal judgement also dealt with a case between former Feltex directors and a group of investors over whether the company's insurance policy could be used by the directors.

The court says shareholders are not entitled to a charge over the insurance money.