Willis Towers Watson PLC Files Lawsuit Against Alliant, Alleging Employee Poaching
From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law
Willis Towers Watson PLC has filed a lawsuit against Alliant Insurance Services Inc. in a federal district court in Richmond, Virginia.
The lawsuit alleges that a recently retired Willis official, Douglas Pera, who formerly supervised seven employees, encouraged them to join him at Alliant.
The lawsuit claims that Mr. Pera and the other employees engaged in a "coordinated raid" on Willis' Glen Allen office and real estate practice. This effort began in August and concluded with the last two employees leaving on October 4. Many departing employees are bound by "narrowly tailored restrictive covenants" that prohibit them from soliciting or serving Willis clients. According to BusinessInsurance.com, the lawsuit further alleges that those departing employees have solicited business from several Willis clients.
The charges in the lawsuit against the former employees and Alliant include tortious interference with contract, breach of contract, violation of the Defend Trade Secrets Act, and breach of the duty of loyalty. Willis is seeking temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief to prevent the defendants from continuing to breach their restrictive covenants and soliciting business from Willis' clients.
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