which concluded the other day had a Bermudian flavour to it.

Executives from Centre Reinsurance Company of New York, a US part of the Centre group of companies headquartered in Bermuda at the new WaterFront building, were in court to answer charges from actor Martin Landau and others over a deal for $30 million of film financing Mr. Landau and his partners thought they had in place with Centre Reinsurance Co.

The Oscar-winning actor, who starred in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors , and his partners in Silver Street Pictures Inc. had claimed that Centre Reinsurance Co. of New York had made an oral agreement in 1996 to back movies to the tune of $30 million.

But a jury found against Mr. Landau and his partners in the lawsuit. The federal jury ruled there was not enough evidence that a deal had actually been made. "Our position was that we were still negotiating,'' said William Price, the attorney for the insurance company, adding: "We're delighted that the jury was able to decipher the evidence and find in our favor.'' Gregory Dovel, the attorney for Silver Street, said Mr. Landau had not yet decided whether to appeal. Mr. Landau appeared in the old TV series Mission: Impossible and such movies as Ed Wood and North by Northwest as well as his starring role in Crimes and Misdemeanors .

COURTS CTS