USI Insurance Services LLC asked a federal judge in Tampa, Florida, for a new trial on damages in a poaching lawsuit involving former brokers who left to join a Lockton Cos. LLC unit.
The Valhalla, New York-based brokerage said in the motion filed Thursday in Matthew Simmons et al. v. USI Insurance Services LLC that prior rulings in the case on actual and punitive damages were incorrectly denied.
USI said it should have been allowed to present a fair market value damages model to the jury to demonstrate the actual value of business lost from the departure of the brokers to Southeast Series of Lockton Cos. LLC. It also said it should be allowed to pursue its claim for more than $5 million in punitive damages, which was dismissed before the trial.
In July, a jury said Lockton and two brokers should pay almost $3 million to USI. The jury concluded that Mr. Simmons and Jack Mitchell were liable for breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Lockton was found liable for aiding and abetting the brokers’ breach of fiduciary duty and tortiously interfering with contractual relationships.
USI said in its motion that despite not seeing all of its evidence on damages, the jury found that Lockton engaged in “tortious and improper” conduct.
Mr. Simmons and five other brokers left USI to join Lockton, claiming they were not given sufficient resources and support. They sued USI in January 2023 in Florida state court, seeking an order stating their noncompete and nonsolicitation agreements were unenforceable. USI later removed the lawsuit to federal court and filed counterclaims against Lockton and the brokers, court records show.
Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.
