three of Bermuda's top accountants for "conspiracy'' to injure his business interests.

The writ, which was filed on Wednesday at Bermuda Supreme Court, seeks damages against Mr. David Lines, Mr. Peter Mitchell and Mr. Kirkland Cooper; their firm Cooper and Lines and associated companies.

It was filed by legal firm Hall, Duncan and Trott on behalf of Mr. Hardy and his firms, Villarosa Establishment, of Liechtenstein; and Magnolia Trading SA, of Panama.

The legal action is in connection with the accountants' work as liquidators of Mr. Hardy's Bermuda-based insurance interests, Forum Re, Focus Insurance and Aneco Re., which are all currently in liquidation.

Mr. Hardy believes the accountants made decisions during their liquidation activities which have damaged his other business interests and lessened his ability to meet his financial commitments to creditors of his Bermuda firms.

Lawyer Mr. Julian Hall MP, who is representing Mr. Hardy, said: "Mr. Hardy has been trying for a very long time to encourage a more rational and, I might add, sane approach to the affairs of his former companies now in liquidation.

"In particular, he has always maintained that Focus Insurance, and Aneco Reinsurance were in a position to meet their obligations as and when they fall due.

"For several weeks the record is clear -- Mr. Hardy has been warning those charged with the responsibility of serving his liquidators that if they conducted a witch-hunt they could have the effect of undermining capitalisation structures which were always in place for the benefit of these various companies.

"It's very clear to us a conspiracy to injure Mark Hardy has been administered and, as part of that conspiracy, over the past few months a number of overt acts have been performed by these defendants and lawyers and other personnel acting on their behalf which have had the direct and predictable effect of threatening the security of that underlying capital structure.

"Very specifically, they have affected the assets of Magnolia Trading SA, which have at all material times been in place in order to serve as a foundation for the capital commitments of Channel Re in the Turks and Caicos Islands, to which a lot of the loss of Focus and other Hardy companies was properly novated.'' As well as damages, Mr. Hardy is seeking an injunction against the accountants to prevent a repetition of the alleged acts to injure his business interests.

The writ also seeks further damages against the accountants for "wrongfully inducing and procuring'' a company called Incovest Establishments to breach a contract with Magnolia Trading SA for the acquisition of shares in a property developing firm in Spain.