Westbroke Ltd.

The Joint Liquidators of Bermuda-registered Carolina Reinsurance Ltd. have filed a civil lawsuit in the United States against the firm's shareholders and auditor.They are seeking damages for tens of millions of dollars of dividends they claim were taken out of the company when it was insolvent.

Bermuda-domiciled Carolina Re was used to siphon approximately $470 million of premiums from a North Carolina-based aviation reinsurance pool known as Fortress Re, it has been alleged. And the principals who controlled both companies have been accused of providing the pool's members with false financial statements showing "exceptional" profits instead of "exceptional" losses.

Losses from the World Trade Center terrorist attack have claimed their first victim in Bermuda, with the forced liquidation of Carolina Reinsurance Limited.Carolina Re was a Class 3 insurer that was formed in Bermuda in 1984 and managed by Westbroke Ltd., which is operated by the law firm of Conyers, Dill & Pearman.