Broker's £1.7m libel case against FSA thrown out

A mortgage broker who tried to sue the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for £1.67m has had his libel case thrown out by the High Court.

Adam Lucas, who ran Essex brokerage People Loans, claimed the FSA libelled him by publishing a decision notice in which the regulator said Lucas failed to pay £1,349.41 in fees.

The final notice cancelled his permissions to carry on regulated activities, thereby removing his approved persons status.

But in what is thought to be the first libel case brought against the FSA the High Court Judge has backed the regulator and thrown out the case.

The court ruled Lucas' case was an "abuse of the process of the court", and ordered him to pay the as yet undisclosed sum of the FSA's legal costs.

Lucas was suing the regulator for loss of earnings and damage to his reputation on the grounds the regulator did not attempt to contact him using the usual channels before cancelling his permissions.

He claimed that as well as appearing on the regulator's website in March last year, the notice was published in about 11 newspapers and magazines, according to the Telegraph.

Lucas said he was out of the country in the run-up to the notice being issued, and only found out about it when he returned to the UK and received a new job offer.

However, he was unable to take the post as he had lost his approved status.