Marsh unit sues rival agency after ‘retired’ broker joins

Marsh & McLennan Agency last week sued Granite Insurance and one of its former producers, whom it alleges poached 21 clients after he retired from MMA.

In Marsh & McLennan Agency LLC v. Granite Insurance Agency Inc. and Milton Ray Tedder, Jr., filed in federal court in Asheville, North Carolina, MMA says that Mr. Tedder, who joined the company when it purchased McGriff in November 2024, was the top producer in McGriff’s Asheville office.

In September 2024, Mr. Tedder announced his intention to retire and stayed on to transition accounts to other McGriff producers, according to the suit. However, on Nov. 15, its security team flagged a file he sent to his personal email address containing details of client information, it states.

Mr. Tedder left MMA at the end of November and joined Granite Falls, North Carolina-based Granite, which is part of Keystone Agency Partners, in April 2025. During the interim period, Mr. Tedder contacted clients he had handled at McGriff, in breach of the nonsolicitation agreement he had signed with the brokerage, MMA alleges.

“From late September 2024 through the present, MMA has lost over 21 client accounts to Granite. MMA anticipates that it will continue to lose additional clients due to Granite and Tedder’s salacious and unlawful solicitation of its clients,” the suit states.

The revenue associated with the clients exceeds $1 million, the suit says.

MMA is seeking damages and an injunction against Granite and Mr. Tedder.

Granite did not immediately respond to a request for comment.