Marsh Sues Alliant Over Poaching of Surety Employees and Clients
Marsh USA has filed a lawsuit against Alliant Insurance Services, alleging unfair competition and poaching of key commercial surety employees and clients. The dispute follows the resignation of Glenn Pelletiere, Marsh's commercial surety leader for the Northeast, who joined Alliant with three key team members.
Marsh claims that after Pelletiere's departure, Alliant began soliciting Marsh's clients, leading to one of the largest commercial surety clients moving to Alliant. Marsh is seeking to enforce restrictive covenants, protect confidential information, and halt Alliant's 'campaign of unfair competition'. This is not an isolated incident, with Marsh alleging as many as 70 similar cases filed against Alliant.
Marsh is suing for injunctive relief, business losses, legal costs, damages, and punitive damages. The three employees who resigned with Pelletiere were David Willis, Michael Sobel, and Rick Schultze. They were contractually obligated for one year not to poach Marsh clients or employees. Marsh accuses Alliant of inducing these employees to breach non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, and interfering with its business relationships.
In December 2024, Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) sued Alliant for similar claims. The court ruled in Marsh's favor, prohibiting Alliant from soliciting certain Marsh clients and using confidential information. The judge concluded that Marsh was entitled to a prohibitory injunction to prevent further losses of client relationships and use of protected confidential information.
Alliant argued that restrictive covenants are unenforceable, but the judge dismissed this argument, stating that New York courts will enforce such agreements to protect employer relationships and goodwill. Marsh's lawsuit against Alliant is ongoing, with the outcome yet to be determined.
