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$700 million jury award vs Artemis in Executive Life case LOS ANGELES (AFX) - A US judge overturned a jury award of 700 mln usd in punitive damages against French firm Artemis stemming from the allegedly fraudulent purchase of US insurer Executive Life, a lawyer told Agence France-Presse Wednesday. Federal Court Judge Howard Matz cancelled the decision of a trial jury in July because the Los Angeles panel had erred in imposing punitive damages when it had not ordered compensatory damages against the holding company of French billionaire Francois Pinault, Aretemis lawyer James Clark said. 'It appears to me that the punitive damages have been entirely eliminated from the case,' Clark said in Los Angeles. 'We'll have to wait and see if whether he's going to do anything about restitution. But the jury part of the case is over.' The decision appears to bring an end to the trial phase of the Executive Life saga that began with its illegal acquisition by a consortium led by French bank Credit Lyonnais in 1991. The affair resulted in one of the largest criminal settlements in US history in Dec 2002. It was followed by a complex civil trial earlier this year that resulted in the jury ruling in May that Artemis had conspired with Credit Lyonnais and other investors to hide the bank's illegal role in the purchase of the failed insurer.
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