Insurance fiddle threatens to result in Jailhouse Rock
A PENSIONER who tried to sue his insurers over alleged hearing loss faces a possible prison sentence, the Court of Appeal has ruled, after he was unmasked as a frontman in a rock and roll band.
David Romaine, 69, claimed his deafness and bouts of tinnitus had been caused by his work as a fridge engineer in the Seventies and Eighties.
In 2015 he sued the insurers of Stanley Refrigeration for £5,000 damages but dropped the case after investigators found out he was the lead singer of The 501s, a group based in Essex.
Photographs online showed Mr Romaine playing guitar in pubs and clubs, and the band listed him on its website as its lead singer. Zurich Insurance tried to initiate contempt of court proceedings after Mr Romaine allegedly claimed he had no noisy hobbies.
Last year at the High Court Mr Justice Goose refused the insurer permission to bring a case against Mr Romaine, saying it was not in the public interest.
However, yesterday the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling and granted approval for proceedings to go ahead. Mr Romaine could face an unlimited fine or up to two years in prison if found guilty of contempt of court.
Lord Justice Haddon-cave said: “The message needs to go out to those who might be tempted to bring – or lend their names to – fraudulent claims. Dishonest claimants cannot avoid being liable to committal proceedings merely by discontinuing [a] fraudulent claim.”
Mr Romaine, who had insisted that his only musical activity was quietly strumming a guitar, said he had not signed any documents containing lies.
David Callow, for Zurich, said The 501s’ website told a different story, stating that Mr Romaine has shared stages with Slade and Jasper Carrott.
“He had an interest in fast motorcycles, fast cars and guitars. He played an electric guitar when performing with the live band and was the lead singer.”
The case for contempt of court will be heard on a later date.