While poaching lawsuits between established brokers that employed staff from each other were common in 2022, a broker that went out on its 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 brokerage.
The broker sued former USI vice president Patrick Baggett in U.S. District Court in Nashville, Tennessee, in June on USI Insurance Services LLC vs. Patrick Baggett and Boxwood Insurance Group.
Mr. Baggett, who had signed a non-compete agreement with the broker, resigned from USI in August 2021 and formed what became Boxwood in Franklin, Tennessee, in May.
Boxwood then hired two other former USI employees, Tyler Kemp and Jill Holzen, and a former client of Mr. Baggett at USI moved his business to the new brokerage, the complaint said.
USI claimed in the complaint that the employment agreement of Mr. Baggett with USI prohibited her from soliciting business from her clients for two years after termination of employment. She accused Mr. Baggett for breach of contract and Boxwood for tortious interference and sought injunctive relief from both defendants.
The story on the lawsuit was the 10th most read risk management story Business Insurance website in 2022.
Attorneys in the case agreed in September at an initial case management conference that the motion to expedite limited discovery was moot, according to a court filing.
The trial on this case is set for March 26, 2024.
