Global insurer American International Group (AIG) has reached an out of court settlement of its legal dispute with the excess and surplus insurance firm Dellwood that was started by former AIG executives.
In a filing in federal district court in New Jersey on May 22, AIG and Dellwood said they reached a settlement on May 17 and AIG’s lawsuit has been “voluntarily dismissed with prejudice and without costs and/or attorneys’ fees to any party as against any other party. ”
Details of the settlement were not disclosed.
The legal battle began in April 2024 shortly after former AIG executives — Michael Price, Kean Driscoll and Thomas Connolly — launched their own E&S insurance holding company, Dellwood, in New Jersey. In April 2024 AIG sued the three and the new company alleging unlawful misappropriation of AIG’s trade secrets and confidential information, violations of employment contracts, and unfair competition.
AIG saw Dellwood as directly competitive with AIG’s own E&S operations. AIG sought injunctive relief and damages.
Dellwood received more than $250 million in capital and was backed by RenaissanceRe, PartnerRe, Starr Insurance, Central Insurance, and a group of individual investors for wholesale brokers in the small- and middle-enterprise E&S market.
AIG later dropped the former executives from the lawsuit but an amended complaint continued to name Dellwood Insurance. Since then, AIG and Dellwood have fired back and forth over whether the suit should be allowed to proceed.
On March 28, a federal judge allowed the some of the claims in AIG’s lawsuit to proceed. Judge Evelyn Padin in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey ruled AIG could go ahead with allegations of misappropriation of trade secrets and unfair competition by Dellwood. Padin dismissed with prejudice AIG’s allegations of tortious interference, aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, and computer fraud abuse.
AIG Can Continue Trade Secret Theft Allegations Against Dellwood
On the matter of taking trade secrets, AIG was allowed to proceed with claims that former employee Thomas Connolly – now with Dellwood as chief financial officer – acted as a “double agent” for Dellwood while still employed with AIG.
Dellwood had countered the lawsuit by arguing that AIG should not be allowed to claim a “monopoly on the experience and general knowledge” of its employees nor should it be allowed to prevent Dellwood from doing business by “throwing around its weight with ginned-up claims,” especially after dropping claims against three of its executives who were all former AIG employees.
The two reached their agreement out of court on May 17.
Topics
Lawsuits
Excess Surplus
AIG
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