Lawyers for American International Group are asking a judge to reject a request from Dellwood Insurance Group to dismiss the lawsuit against the company, after it dropped a suit against three former executives improperly founded the excess and surplus lines insurer, according to BestWire research.
AIG attorneys argued Dellwood “aided and abetted” the breach of fiduciary duty to AIG by former executives Thomas Connolly, Kean Driscoll and Michael Price and interfering with their contracts with AIG.
AIG filed the suit against Dellwood and former executives Connolly, Driscoll and Price in U.S. District Court in New Jersey. It alleges Price and Driscoll left AIG on June 30, 2023, and March 3, 2024, respectively, and both violated noncompete agreements that extended through the time Dellwood was being established.
Price’s agreement prevented him from competing with AIG or interfering with its customer relationships until Sept. 30, 2023, and from soliciting AIG employees until June 30, 2024, according to earlier reports. It also permanently prohibited him from soliciting AIG customers if it involved using or disclosing AIG’s confidential information or disparaging the company.
AIG opposed Dellwood’s request to dismiss the case after AIG dropped its lawsuit against three individuals.
In May, AIG dismissed a lawsuit against three former executives who had formed Dellwood Insurance Group. AIG had accused them in federal filings of “unlawful misappropriation” of internal information.
Dellwood argued that AIG’s dismissal of the suit against the former executives should bar any claims against Dellwood for aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty and interfering with contracts. AIG rejected this argument, stating that the dismissal was not a decision on the merits of the case.
In April, AIG sued Dellwood less than a month after it launched, accusing the new excess and surplus lines insurer of misappropriating trade secrets through its former executives.
Driscoll’s restrictive agreements included a garden leave provision, effective until March 3, 2024, which prohibited him from competing with AIG, soliciting employees, or violating his fiduciary duty.
His agreement also permanently barred him from using confidential information to solicit customers or disparage AIG.
AIG noted in filings that these agreements were part of a compensation package that included long-term incentive awards. The company alleged that Price and Driscoll violated their agreements by soliciting Connolly, AIG’s former CFO of North American general insurance, who later joined Dellwood as CFO.
AIG claimed Connolly acted as a “secret agent” in his final month at AIG by forwarding confidential information to his personal email and encouraging colleagues to join Dellwood.
by Terrence Dopp – senior associate editor Best’s Review
