Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on Friday sued father-and-son agents who it says stole away clients to form a new agency just three years after selling their previous agency to the brokerage.
Chris Wycoff and his son, Austin Wycoff, “have been conspiring for over a year” to funnel confidential information and clients to the new agency, violating non-compete and non-solicitation restrictions, according to the complaint, Arthur J. Gallagher and Co. and AssuredPartners of Texas v. Stonebrook Insurance, Chris Wycoff and Austin Wycoff.
The Wycoffs sold their family-owned insurance agency to AssuredPartners of Texas for over $3 million in 2022 and then joined AssuredPartners, which Gallagher bought last year, according to the complaint, filed in federal court in the Eastern District of Texas. The sale terms included an additional payment, or earn-out, of over $500,000 to occur at the two-year mark…