10. USI pursued poaching litigation against former broker
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While poaching litigation between established brokerages hiring staff from each other was common in 2022, a broker who went out on his own was also followed by a lawsuit.
USI Services LLC sought expedited discovery in July in noncompete litigation it filed against a former employee who formed his own brokerage.
The broker sued former USI vice president Patrick Baggett in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, in June in USI Insurance Services LLC v. Patrick Baggett and Boxwood Insurance Group.
Mr. Baggett, who had signed a noncompete agreement with the broker, resigned from USI in August 2021 and formed what became Boxwood in Franklin, Tennessee, in May.
Boxwood subsequently hired two other former USI employees, Tyler Kemp and Jill Holzen, and one former client of Mr. Baggett at USI moved its business to the new brokerage, the complaint said.
USI contended in the complaint that Mr. Baggett’s employment agreement with USI prohibited him from soliciting business from its clients for two years after his employment’s termination. It charged Mr. Baggett with breach of contract and Boxwood with tortious interference and sought injunctive relief from both defendants.
The story on the litigation was the 10th most read risk management story on Business Insurance’s website in 2022.
Attorneys in the case agreed in September in an initial case management conference that the motion to expedite limited discovery was moot, according to a court filing.
Trial in the case is set for March 26, 2024.
