Plaintiffs of a lawsuit claiming that Markel Corp. engaged in fraudulent behavior related to its $183 million acquisition of Aspen Holdings Inc. are asking for $80 million from the Virginia-based insurer, The Insurance Insider reported.

A source told The Insurance Insider that Markel is not in negotiation talks with the plaintiffs.

Thomas Yeransian filed a lawsuit over the contingent value rights that were issued as part of the consideration of the acquisition of Aspen, now known as Markel Aspen Inc. Thomas, who represents the contingent value rights holders, accused Markel of manipulating reserves, falsely stating its liabilities and misrepresenting the rights and payments due to the contingent value rights holders to deprive them of the purchase price to which they are entitled, according to the report.

Former Aspen CEO Luke Yeransian and other sellers agreed to accept $47.3 million of the purchase price in the form of IOUs, structured as contingent value rights. In a March court filing, Markel claimed that the total value of the contingent value rights was about $8.9 million as of the end of 2017, when they were due to be paid out, but Thomas Yeransian said Markel should have to pay the original amount, plus interest, default interest and legal expense.

A Markel spokesman did not respond to The Insurance Insider's request for comment. The lawsuit's trial date has been set in December.

The publication noted that it is unclear whether or how Thomas Yeransian and Luke Yeransian are related.