Global insurance brokerage and risk management firm Willis Towers Watson has filed a lawsuit in Boston after 18 employees resigned within 44 minutes and moved to a rival brokerage down the street.
As first reported by Insurance Journal, Willis Towers Watson Northeast filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court five days after the mass departure, which happened on August 19.
According to the court filing, the resignations began at 8:02 a.m. and concluded at 8:46 a.m. The departing group was reportedly led by senior leaders Michael Scott and Thomas Grandmaison. Court records show the two leaders previously moved together as part of a 10-person construction team shift from major global insurance broker Aon to Willis Towers Watson in 2022.
The company maintains that the timing was coordinated, accusing competitor Lockton of orchestrating a “smash and grab” operation that violated non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements, with Lockton accused of aiding and abetting the breach.
The two brokerages maintain offices in close proximity in downtown Boston, with Willis Towers Watson at 125 High St. and Lockton at 225 Franklin St. While Willis Towers Watson is headquartered in the United Kingdom, Lockton operates as a privately held firm headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.
Willis Towers Watson generates roughly $10 billion in annual revenue, and Lockton operates as the largest privately held independent insurance broker in the U.S. with global revenue of approximately $4.5 billion.
The departing workers primarily resided in Massachusetts, with others based in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Alabama, according to the lawsuit. Their specialized team delivered insurance and risk-management services to construction companies nationwide, generating more than $5 million in annual revenue for their former employer.
Within 48 hours of the departure, the employees allegedly took 13 clients along with confidential business information.
In its court filings, Willis Towers Watson is seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction against Lockton and the former staff members. The company is asking the court to block further solicitations, invalidate policies written with the new Lockton employees and enforce the disgorgement of any gains and relationships Lockton realized, as well as damages and restrictions preventing Lockton from servicing the accounts.
The company characterized the incident in legal documents as “so brazen, severe and outrageous” that it demanded significant judicial intervention.
“The size and significance of this raid, and the egregious way Defendants systematically sought to pilfer WTW’s client relationships, require commensurate relief,” the complaint states. “Lockton should be required to disgorge the client relationships that it wrongfully obtained from WTW–relief that Lockton itself requested and obtained in the context of a comparably extreme raid. In other words, the clients Lockton stole should be told that they need to go back to WTW or another competitor.
“Lockton should not be allowed to profit from its unlawful conduct. Again, this is the same relief Lockton asked for when it was raided by a competitor.”
A hearing on the preliminary injunction request was originally scheduled for August 26 but did not take place. Court dockets indicate that both sides may be pursuing an out-of-court resolution, though the case remains open.
Representatives for Willis Towers Watson Northeast declined further comment, and Lockton did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
