Hassans partner cited in US PCC judgement

A partner at law firm Hassans has been cited in relation to a US judgement on the legal status of protected cell companies (PCC).

The judge in the case cited the reference book ‘Protected Cell Companies: A Guide to Their Implementation and Use’, which was co-authored by Nigel Feetham, a partner at Hassans.

The Montana Federal Court analysed the legal status of PCC’s in Pac Re 5-AT v AmTrust North America.

According to Hassans, the question before the court was essentially who was the proper party to a contractual dispute concerning a PCC.

“The Court held that the protected cell under the applicable local legislation was not a separate legal person from the PCC, did not have capacity to sue or be sued in its own name, and that since the reinsurer had acted on behalf of the cell on a captive reinsurance agreement, accordingly the PCC was a proper party to the dispute,” said Hassans.

Catherine Knock, head of marketing at Hassans, said: “Authoring on subjects on which he is knowledgeable is a strong passion of Nigel's but this is the ultimate reward for the time it takes to create a reference book at this level; not many lawyers get their books cited in law reports.”