Judge enters TRO against former Acrisure principal who joined rival

A federal judge on Wednesday granted an Acrisure unit’s request to temporarily bar a principal who abruptly resigned from recruiting former clients and colleagues to his new employer, Alliant Insurance Services Inc.

In granting the temporary restraining order, the judge said in Acrisure of California LLC v. Ryan Bedrosian that the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based broker was entitled to injunctive relief because it demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of its claims and that it had no other adequate remedy of law.

Acrisure also showed that Mr. Bedrosian’s conduct would likely cause irreparable injury to the company’s goodwill with customers and employees.

Mr. Bedrosian began working for Acrisure in December 2018 after it acquired San Francisco-based agency Bedrosian & Associates. Employment agreements barred him from soliciting clients and employees and from sharing confidential information after his resignation, court records show.

Before his May 12 resignation, Mr. Bedrosian persuaded colleague Kimberly Dierdorff to also work for Alliant, Acrisure alleges in its lawsuit. The company sued Mr. Bedrosian for alleged breaches of his employment agreement.

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