USI Insurance Services National, Inc. v. Ogden

District Court, W.D. Washington·Decided February 6, 2023·No. 2:17-cv-01394·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 9 11 NATIONAL, INC., formerly known as NO. 2:17-cv-01394-SAB 14 Plaintiff, 15 v. JOINT PRETRIAL ORDER 16 STANLEY OGDEN, an individual; 17 ELENOR O’KEEFE, an individual; JOHN 18 HASKELL, JR., an individual; and ABD 20 SERVICES, INC., a Delaware corporation, 21 Defendants. 22 24 Defendants removed this case to this Court on September 15, 2017, asserting 25 federal jurisdiction based on diversity under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a). The United 26 States District Court for the Western District of Washington has jurisdiction over 27 this matter under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a) because there is complete diversity of 28 citizenship between the parties and Defendants have a good faith belief that more 1 than $75,000, exclusive of interest and costs, is at stake. Plaintiff does not dispute 2 the Court’s jurisdiction over this matter on the basis asserted by Defendants. 4 A. Plaintiff’s Claims 5 When federal courts sit in diversity—as in this case—they must apply the 6 substantive law of the state where they sit. See Erie R.R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 7 U.S. 64, 58 S. Ct. 817 (1938). Plaintiff intends to pursue damages for the following 8 claims against Defendants based on Washington law, for which the Court has 9 already entered summary judgment as to liability in Plaintiff’s favor: 10 1. Breach of contract (against Defendants Stanley Ogden, Eleanor 11 O’Keefe, and John Haskell, Jr.); and 12 2. Common law tortious interference with contract and/or business 13 expectancy (against Defendant ABD Insurance and Financial Services, Inc. 14 (“ABD”)). 15 In addition, Plaintiff intends to pursue the following claim against Individual 16 Defendant Stanley Ogden based on Washington law: 17 3. Breach of Washington’s common law duty of loyalty (against 18 Defendant Stanley Ogden only). 19 B. Defendants’ Defenses 20 Defendants intend to pursue the following affirmative defenses at trial: 21 1. Waiver; 22 2. Estoppel; 23 3. Unclean hands; and 24 4. Failure to mitigate damages. 25 Plaintiff contends that Defendants’ affirmative defenses of waiver, estoppel, 26 and unclean hands are precluded by this Court’s summary judgment order as to 27 liability in Plaintiff’s favor. Plaintiff does not object to Defendants’ affirmative 28 defense of failure to mitigate damages. 2 The following facts are admitted by the parties: 3 1. Defendant Stanley Ogden began working for Pettit-Morry Co. 4 (“Pettit-Morry”), a Washington insurance brokerage, in 1987. In exchange for the 5 purchase of all of Mr. Ogden’s outstanding capital stock in Pettit-Morry, Mr. 6 Ogden entered into an Agreement and Covenant Not to Compete. 7 2. Defendant Eleanor O’Keefe began working for Pettit-Morry in 1986. 8 In exchange for the purchase of all of Ms. O’Keefe’s outstanding capital stock in 9 Pettit-Morry, Ms. O’Keefe entered into an Agreement and Covenant Not to 10 Compete. 11 3. Through a series of corporate mergers, Pettit-Morry was ultimately 12 acquired by Wells Fargo Insurance Services USA, Inc. (“WFIS”), which was in 13 turn later acquired by Plaintiff USI Insurance Services National, Inc. (“USI”). 14 4. Lewis Dorrington began working for an entity then known as ABD 15 Insurance and Financial Services (which was a different corporate entity from 16 Defendant ABD, but which employed and was led by several of the same 17 individuals) in November 2004. This earlier ABD was also thereafter acquired by 19 5. In 2013 and 2015, Defendant John Haskell, Jr. signed new 20 employment contracts with WFIS. 21 6. While Lewis Dorrington was still employed by WFIS and after 22 Haskell started working at ABD, Haskell met with Dorrington. 23 7. During the meeting between Dorrington and Haskell, while 24 Dorrington was still employed by WFIS and Haskell was employed by ABD, 25 Haskell provided Dorrington with the name of ABD’s President, Kurt de Grosz. 26 8. Before Stanley Ogden resigned from WFIS, he told ABD’s Kurt de 27 Grosz that he (Stanley Ogden) had a book of business of approximately $1.6 28 1 million and mentioned the names of certain clients, including Trident Seafoods and 2 Harley Marine. 3 9. Without waiving their rights to appeal, the parties agree that the Court 4 made the following determinations on summary judgment: 5 a. USI is entitled to enforce certain employment contracts Defendants 6 Stanley Ogden, Eleanor O’Keefe, and John Haskell, Jr. had entered with 7 USI’s predecessor, WFIS. 8 b. Both Ogden and O’Keefe had enforceable contracts with WFIS that 9 included a provision wherein they agreed, for a period of three years after 10 the termination of their employment with WFIS or its successors, not to 11 “participate directly or indirectly in the handling of the insurance 12 business of … any person, firm or entity which has been a client or 13 customer of [their former employer] within two years prior to the date of 14 termination of” their employment. 15 c. Both Ogden and O’Keefe breached that provision in their contracts by 16 continuing to handle the insurance business of WFIS clients after they 17 began working for ABD. 18 d. Haskell had an enforceable contract with WFIS that included a provision 19 wherein he agreed, for a period of two years following the termination of 20 his employment, not to “solicit, recruit or promote the solicitation of any 21 employee . . . of [his former employer] for the purpose of encouraging 22 that employee . . . to leave the Company’s employ . . .” 23 e. Haskell did not breach any other provisions in his contract with USI’s 24 predecessors, including that he did not breach the confidentiality or 25 nonsolicitation-of-client provisions in that contract. 26 f. ABD tortiously interfered with USI’s contractual expectations when 27 Ogden and O’Keefe continued handling insurance business of USI clients 28 1 and when Haskell assisted ABD in recruiting his former co-worker, 2 Lewis Dorrington. 3 g. None of the following individuals who left WFIS to work at ABD 4 breached any contractual or other duties they may have owed to USI or 5 its predecessors: Lewis Dorrington, Cory Anderson, Mary Mark, or 6 Marcia Ogden. 8 A. The following are issues of law that both Parties agree remain to be 9 determined by the Court (either by appropriate jury instructions or after post-trial 10 motions): 11 1. Is any party entitled to attorneys’ fees and costs under RCW 12 4.84.330? 13 2. Is Plaintiff entitled to prejudgment interest? 14 3. Any other challenges to the admissibility of evidence raised in the 15 parties’ motions in limine or other evidentiary objections at trial. 16 B. The following are additional issues of law that Plaintiff believes 17 remain to be determined by the Court: 18 1. Should Defendants be precluded from offering expert or lay opinion 19 testimony regarding Plaintiff’s damages? 20 2. Should Defendants be precluded from offering testimony or evidence 21 regarding consumer banking practices or alleged fraud and/or criminal conduct by 22 Wells Fargo Bank or any of its subsidiaries? 23 C. The following are additional issues of law that Defendants believe 24 remain to be determined by the Court (either by appropriate jury instructions or 25 after post-trial motions): 26 1. Did Plaintiff prove with reasonable certainty that it would have earned 27 additional, net profits if Stanley Ogden had not handled the business of his former 28 WFIS customers after his employment with Plaintiff terminated? 1 2. If so, then what damages, if any, did USI suffer as a result of 2 defendant Stanley Ogden’s handling of business from his former WFIS customers 3 in breach of his contractual commitments to Plaintiff? 4 3.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

USI Insurance Services National, Inc. v. Ogden, (W.D. Wash. 2023).

USI Insurance Services National, Inc. v. Ogden (USI Insurance Services National, Inc. v. Ogden) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Erie Railroad v. Tompkins
304 U.S. 64 (Supreme Court, 1938)