QBE Insurance Group Ltd. units sued against Applied Underwriters Inc. earlier this week regarding the Applied's hiring of 13 people in its aviation insurance division in September.
Separately, QBE needs a brief restraining order along with a preliminary injunction against two of those former employees.
An official of Omaha, Nebraska-based Applied Underwriters labeled the litigation “plainly meritless” inside a statement Wednesday.
QBE said in documents filed in state court in Ny Tuesday that the 13 individuals, who comprised about one-third of QBE's aviation insurance division, included senior underwriters Kristina Orcutt and Kristina Mulligan; Steven Allen, QBE senior vice president and head of aviation; and Gregory Dekker, QBE v . p . aviation underwriting.
A complaint for injunctive relief and damages states Mr. Allen and Mr. Dekker were susceptible to written employment agreements with QBE which Applied induced the two men to breach their contractual obligations, based on QBE Americas Inc., d/b/a QBE North America vs. Kristina Orcutt, Kristina Mulligan and Applied Underwriters Inc.
The complaint says Mr. Allen called his manager, Steven Gransbury, QBE's head of specialty insurance, on Sept. 20, 2022, to inform him that 12 individuals on his aviation team had resigned, then later on that day sent an email to the aviation division informing the group he, too, was resigning.
QBE said it learned in November that Mr. Allen had orchestrated a “poaching scheme” in coordination with his new employer, Applied. It said additionally that Ms. Orcutt and Ms. Mulligan had provided Applied with confidential data.
The complaint, which seeks unspecified damages, charges Applied with tortious interference against QBE and expenses all defendants with misappropriation of confidential information and unfair competition. It also charges Ms. Orcutt and Ms. Mulligan with breach of loyalty.
Separately, QBE petitioned for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and “expedited discovery in aid of arbitration” inside a separate filing to the court, in QBE Americas, Inc. d/b/a QBE The united states v. Steven Allen and Gregory Dekker.
A statement from Jeffrey Silver, executive v . p . and general counsel at Applied, said the litigation tries “to accomplish with a nuisance suit the things they couldn't accomplish with purchase of the sector and with a highly effective marketing approach.”
The statement said the individuals named “elected to maneuver to Applied Underwriters that belongs to them volition to develop their business specialty using Applied resources” which Applied “did not seek, didn't receive, nor will we need any of QBE's confidential information.”
The statement also said the hiring process occurred a lot more than 90 days ago, “making QBE's claim of purportedly irreparable harm appear to be litigation tactic way over a demonstrable fact.”
