Investors' claims in relation to negligent financial advice time‐barred Michael Martin & Another v Britannia Life Limited

Mr and Mrs Martin, the claimants, received financial advice from Mr Sherman, a representative of the Life Association of Scotland in 1991. The long‐term insurance business of the Life Association for Scotland was transferred to Britannia Life Ltd. in 1994, hence their position as Defendant to this claim. The financial advice the Martins received involved, in brief, a remortgage of their house, the surrender of a number of existing life policies which were collateral security for an existing mortgage on the house, the taking out of a new endowment policy and a pension policy with the new endowment policy being charged as collateral security on the mortgage. The judge described Mr Sherman as being, at the material time, a self‐employed financial consultant but he was actually for the purposes of the Financial Services Act 1986 a company representative of the Life Association for Scotland (LAS) authorised only to advise, market and sell that group's products. Mr Sherman was therefore a company representative of LAS within the meaning of rule 1.2 of the then applicable rules of the Life Assurance Unit Trust and Regulatory Organisation (LAUTRO).