Mercer Health & Benefits LLC v. DiGregorio

307 F. Supp. 3d 326
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedApril 5, 2018
Docket18–cv–1805 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 307 F. Supp. 3d 326 (Mercer Health & Benefits LLC v. DiGregorio) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mercer Health & Benefits LLC v. DiGregorio, 307 F. Supp. 3d 326 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

The plaintiff, Mercer Health & Benefits LLC, has moved for a preliminary injunction enjoining the defendants, Matthew DiGregorio, JoAnne Steed, Jada Preston (collectively, the "Individual Defendants"), and their alleged employer Lockton Companies, LLC ("Lockton Co."), and any entity or person acting in concert with them, under their supervision, or on their behalf, from violating the terms of the Non-Solicitation and Confidentiality Agreements that each Individual Defendant signed during their respective employment with Mercer, and from engaging in continued tortious conduct. On March 1, 2018, Judge Engelmayer issued a temporary restraining order, which the parties agreed to continue until March 16, 2018. The Court held an evidentiary hearing on March 16, 2018, after which it modified and continued the restraining order as modified until March 30, 2018. The parties then stipulated to continuing the restraining order as modified until April 6, 2018.

Having reviewed the evidence and assessed the credibility of the witnesses, the Court now makes the following findings of fact and reaches the following conclusions *331of law. The Court will issue a separate Order granting in part and denying in part Mercer's motion for a preliminary injunction.

FINDINGS OF FACT

A.

1. Mercer is a Delaware limited liability company with its principal place of business located at 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York. Mercer is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. ("MMC"), and is a provider of health and benefits solutions, including managing employee benefit plans, assisting clients with choosing the right employee benefits plans to fit their needs, providing access to market experts, and advising clients on regulatory compliance. (Complaint ¶ 12; Lynn Decl. ¶ 3;1 Tr. of March 16, 2018, Hearing ("March 16 Tr.") 57-58). The sole member of Mercer is Mercer (US) Inc., a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in New York. (Dkt. No. 60).

2. Lockton Co., the sole corporate defendant in this case, is a Missouri limited liability company with its principal place of business located in Kansas City, Missouri. Lockton Co. is registered to do business in the State of New York. (Complaint ¶ 16; March 16 Tr. 23-24; Abercrombie Decl. ¶¶ 3, 4).2 Lockton Co. is a citizen of the District of Columbia and eleven States, none of which is Delaware or New York. (Dkt. No. 61).3

3. For whatever reason, the Lockton companies have a complex, interrelated corporate structure. The defendants maintain that Lockton Co., whom Mercer has sued, has no employees and no operations, and its sole member is another limited liability company. (Abercrombie Decl. ¶ 5). Ann Abercrombie is the assistant secretary for Lockton Co., as well as the assistant secretary for Lockton Management, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company based in Kansas City, Missouri, and Lockton, Inc., a Missouri S-corporation with its principal place of business in Missouri. (Id. ¶ 3; Dkt. No. 61).

4. Lockton, Inc., is the holding company for the Lockton organization. Lockton, Inc., has no operations, office, or staff in New York. It is not authorized to do business in New York. (Id. ¶¶ 3, 6).

5. Lockton Management is the manager of Lockton Co. and each of the Lockton Co. series companies. (Id. ¶ 3).

6. There are nine operating series of Lockton Co., which together have approximately 3,500 employees. (Id. ¶ 11). The Lockton series companies are organized under the Missouri Limited Liability Company Act. (See id. ¶ 9). Each series is treated by Missouri law as a separate entity for purposes of its debts, liabilities, and obligations incurred, contracted for, or otherwise *332existing. Each series may sue and be sued in its own name. (Id. ¶ 10 (citing Mo. Rev. Stat. § 347.186.2(1), (2) & (4) ).

7. Pursuant to a shared services agreement, Lockton Management provides each Lockton series with various operational services, including legal services. (Id. ¶ 3).

8. Lockton Co. holds the insurance licenses for all Lockton series, including the Southeast Series of Lockton Companies, LLC ("Lockton Southeast") and the Northeast Series of Lockton Companies, LLC ("Lockton Northeast"), and enters into contracts on behalf of all of the Lockton series. (Id. ¶¶ 4-5).

9. Lockton Southeast is a Missouri series limited liability company that has offices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. Lockton Southeast is one of the nine operating series affiliated with Lockton Co. Lockton Southeast has approximately 201 employees. Lockton Southeast has its own president, chief operating officer, and executive committee that oversee its operations. (Id. ¶¶ 7, 11). Lockton Southeast services many different lines of insurance business, but it competes with Mercer only in the health and benefits insurance space, which is the scope of Mercer's business. (Id. ¶ 6). Lockton Southeast is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. (See March 16 Tr. 120).

10. Lockton Northeast is also one of the nine operating series affiliated with Lockton Co. It is the only series with an office in New York. (Abercrombie Decl. ¶ 5).

11. Each of the Individual Defendants was recruited by representatives of Lockton Southeast and other Lockton entities.

12. The Individual Defendants coordinated their resignations from Mercer and their employments by Lockton Southeast.

13. DiGregorio was employed by Mercer from January, 2010, until January 17, 2018, when he resigned his employment and joined Lockton Southeast. (March 16 Tr. 12, 57, 66). DiGregorio allegedly resides in Parkland, Florida. (Compl. ¶ 13).

14. Steed was employed by Mercer from April, 2007, until January 17, 2018, when she resigned her employment and joined Lockton Southeast. (Lynn Decl. ¶¶ 13, 25). Steed allegedly resides in Hypoluxo, Florida. (Compl. ¶ 14).

15. Preston was employed by Mercer from October, 2006, until January 17, 2018, when she resigned her employment and joined Lockton Southeast. (Lynn Decl. ¶¶ 19, 25). Preston allegedly resides in Pembroke, Florida. (Compl. ¶ 15).

16. DiGregorio is a Producer Member of Lockton Southeast; Steed and Preston are employees of Lockton Southeast. (Sharma Dep. 12).4

B.

17. Mercer maintains confidential information concerning its clients in several internal Mercer systems: its accounting system; a proprietary version of technology developed by Salesforce.com, and a Microsoft Access database. (March 16 Tr. 6).

18. The information contained in Mercer's internal systems regarding Mercer clients would be of commercial value to Mercer's competitors. (Id.; Lynn Decl. ¶ 11).

19. Some of the information in these Mercer systems is not available from public sources, including client contact information and notes on the types of services and lines of coverage that Mercer provides to its clients. (March 16 Tr. 7-8).

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307 F. Supp. 3d 326, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mercer-health-benefits-llc-v-digregorio-ilsd-2018.