An AssuredPartners Inc. unit sued rival brokerage firm NFP Inc. and its newly appointed head of professional liability on Wednesday, alleging he breached confidentiality and non-solicitation agreements when he left AssuredPartners last year.
According to the lawsuit in AssuredPartners Jamison LLC v. John P. Ferreira and NFP Corp.filed in US District Court in New Jersey, Mr. Ferreira at least one AssuredPartners client in violation of his restrictive covenants with the firm, resulting in the loss of more than $108,000 in annual revenue.
Mr. Ferreira joined Herbert L. Jamison & Co. LLC in 1997 and continued with the agency after it was purchased by AssuredPartners in 201
1, court papers say. At the time of the deal, he signed an employment agreement barring him from taking confidential information and soliciting AssuredPartners clients for two years if he left the brokerage, the lawsuit says.Mr. Ferreira resigned from AssuredPartners on November 9, 2022, and his last day at the firm was November 30. NFP announced last month that Ferreira had joined the brokerage as senior vice president and professional liability manager.
A day after he left AssuredPartners, law firm Cooper Levenson PA notified the brokerage firm that it no longer needed it to serve as its broker, the lawsuit states.
AssuredPartners says it conducted a forensic examination of Ferreira’s computer and found he had emailed client information to his personal email address, including details of the Cooper Levenson account, in the weeks before his departure.
AssuredPartners wants the information back and compensation for the lost income, the lawsuit says.
The NFP declined to comment on the dispute. AssuredPartners did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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