W.R. Berkley Corp. sued against an old employee in federal court in Delaware on Friday choosing the return of almost a half-million dollars available it issued over 11 years, saying he had violated a contract as he left to become listed on a competitor.
Berkley said it had issued Bruce E. Stanley a total of 14,217 shares worth $473,620 between August 2004 and August 2022 that had vested, based on the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington in W.R. Berkley Corp. v. Bruce E. Stanley. It also seeks dividends he earned on the stock.
The complaint states that the stock agreements granting Mr. Stanley the shares stipulated that if he engaged in a “competitive action” within twelve months after termination of his employment the insurer had the right to demand repayment of an amount comparable to the stock's value.
The complaint says Berkley's board of director's compensation committee had the “sole and absolute discretion” to determine whether he had engaged in a competitive action in breach from the stock agreements' applicable provisions, also it determined he had.
Mr. Stanley, who at the time he left the insurer in June 2022 was a helper v . p . and controller-finance with Continental Western Group, an operating unit of the Berkley subsidiary. He's since joined Des Moines, Iowa-based EMC Insurance Cos. as v . p ., financial planning and analysis, according to the complaint.
