Arthur J Gallagher says it lost 800 clients, in a lawsuit against Hub International

Arthur J Gallagher has asked a Colorado judge for immediate intervention after alleging that three former employees coordinated to transfer 800 clients and a substantial chunk of its personal-lines accounts ​to rival broker Hub International.

Gallagher and Hub did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In ‌its petition for immediate relief, Gallagher said 80 clients had filed broker-of-record letters in February. That number has gone up to 800, the broker said on Wednesday in a legal filing.

Wednesday's petition for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and subsequent set ​of injunctions follows a February 11 lawsuit Gallagher and its subsidiary AssuredPartners of Colorado filed against ​former employees Cindy Ackerman Johnson, Vicki Willing, Amanda Mackie and Hub International in ⁠Colorado federal court.

In it, Gallagher and AssuredPartners said Ackerman, who managed its personal insurance business "containing over 1,800 ​lines and generating over $2.3 million in annual revenue," recruited numerous co-workers to leave and join her at Hub, ​a direct competitor.

Of those, Willing and Mackie joined her, the complaint said, with all three resigning on January 27.

Gallagher said Willing and Mackie signed agreements barring them from soliciting or servicing certain clients for 24 months and 18 months, respectively.

Ackerman ​is not under such contracts, according to court documents filed.

Gallagher has accused her of misappropriating trade secrets ​in an alleged campaign to recruit hundreds of clients over to Hub, where she now holds the senior vice president ‌position ⁠of the broker's private client business, and of potentially holding on to company property on a thumb drive.

Ackerman’s counsel, Philip Cantwell, Kimberly Berve and Matthew Johnson of Dowd Bennett, pushed back against the allegations in a statement to The Insurer, accusing Gallagher of retaliation.

“Ms. Ackerman did not misappropriate trade secrets. She is lawfully ​competing with her former employer, ​without any non-solicitation or ⁠non-disclosure obligations," the statement said.

"Gallagher’s months-long, scorched-earth litigation tactics are designed to stifle lawful competition, distract from its failure to ensure a top producer was under ​contract, and are, regrettably, continued evidence of its and its executives’ ongoing retaliatory ​conduct towards ⁠Ms. Ackerman, which conduct will be the subject of affirmative claims against Gallagher and certain of its employees.”

Counsel for Willing and Mackie did not respond to a request for comment.

All defendants filed a motion to dismiss in ⁠April.

As such, ​Gallagher asked the Colorado court to enforce Willing and Mackie's ​restrictive covenants, including non-solicitation agreements. It has also asked the court to bar Ackerman and Hub from inducing or participating in breaches ​of those agreements and to enforce the return of confidential information and trade-secret materials allegedly taken from Gallagher.