Equitable life and director liability: part 2

The author examined Equitable Life's case against their auditors, Ernst & Young. It was seen that the claim was deeply flawed in many respects, had no reasonable prospect of success and should never have been brought in the first place. Can the same be said of the claim against the former directors? To an extent, no. It will be seen that there are portions of the claim that were ludicrously unrealistic (notably the quantum of damages), but the directors themselves certainly were significantly more blameworthy than the auditors. There is a feeling among many that certain directors played a major part in the débâcle and got off lightly as a result of the litigation's collapse. That they also had their costs paid was a further source of indignation.