Marsh sues Alliant, two former execs, for alleged commercial surety team raid

By Isha Marathe

July 3 - (The Insurer) - Marsh is suing Alliant and two former employees, Glenn Pelletiere and Colin Horgan, for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to poach its commercial surety team and at least one client.

Alliant did not respond to a request for comment.

In a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York, Marsh said that Alliant recruited Marsh's Northeast zone surety leader, Pelletiere, who had been with the company for a decade before "abruptly" resigning on January 24.

Pelletiere assured Marsh that he would follow his contractual obligations to refrain from taking any clients or employees; however, "minutes later," Colin Horgan, a vice president on Pelletiere's team, announced his resignation and intention to join Alliant, the lawsuit said.

"Days" after the fact, one of Marsh's marquee clients in Pelletiere’s book of business informed the insurer that Horgan had urged the client to move its accounts to Alliant with Horgan and Pelletiere. However, after reassigning the client to Nicholas Manning, another member of Marsh's surety team, Manning resigned on February 10. On the same day, Madison Diaz, who had been the primary support for two of the largest clients in Pelletiere’s book, also resigned, the lawsuit said.

Marsh said that on March 28, one of the largest commercial surety clients in Pelletiere’s book of business moved its account to Alliant. Diaz had managed the day-to-day relationship with client, while Horgan and Manning playing major supporting roles, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said that Alliant worked with Horgan behind the scenes to help flip the client, by offering to pay him "more than one of Marsh’s most senior leaders — so long as he delivered stolen business."

Marsh is suing Alliant and the defendants on seven counts in total, including breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, aiding and abetting the breach of fiduciary duty, tortious interference with contract and business relations.

As a prayer for relief, Marsh is asking the court for preliminary injunctions stopping the defendants from breaching their contracts by recruiting clients and employees, liquidated damages for breaches, and any other punitive damages.

Marsh declined to comment.