AIG pushes back on E&S startup’s bid to toss unfair competition lawsuit

American International Group Inc. told a federal judge in Newark, New Jesey, Wednesday that it sufficiently alleges that three former executives violated unfair competition laws when launching an excess and surplus lines supplier on March 7.

The insurer said in a brief filed in AIG et al. v. Dellwood Insurance Group LLC that its voluntary dismissal of claims against former executives Michael Price, former CEO of North America General Insurance at AIG; Kean Driscoll, former global chief underwriting officer of AIG; and Thomas Connolly, former chief financial officer of North American Insurance, is not fatal to its allegations against Summit, New Jersey-based Dellwood.

Filing an amended complaint after the dismissal of the former executives does not constitute an attempt to relitigate the lawsuit under a doctrine known as res judicata because it is simply a continuation of the original lawsuit, AIG said.

AIG sued Dellwood and the former executives in April, alleging they unlawfully used its proprietary information and trade secrets to launch Dellwood and violated the terms of their employment contracts when they left AIG to work for the startup.

The amended complaint contains sufficient allegations regarding how the former executives accessed and used AIG’s confidential information and misappropriated trade secrets to form Dellwood, the insurer said.

Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.