Press Room Steele Sturm, PLLC achieved a significant victory in Texas on behalf of a number of insurance brokers that now work for the Lockton Companies, Inc., the largest privately-owned insurance brokerage company in the country.  The brokers' former employer was Gallagher Healthcare, a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher Co., the World's fourth largest insurance brokerage firm.  At issue was the enforceability of a non-compete agreement that, when the case was filed, did not appear to meet the strict requirements for enforceability under Texas law. Then, just 4 months ago, the Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling in Alex Sheshunoff Mgmt. Servs. v. Johnson which loosens the requirements for enforceability.

The parties (Gallagher was well represented by the Houston office of Seyfarth Shaw) filed dueling summary judgment motions and after two full days of summary judgment arguments, the Court held that the non-compete was unenforceable as a matter of law. The Court also dismissed Gallagher's claims for misappropriation of trade secrets as well as a number of claims based on tortious interference with contract. This was one of the first, if not the first, summary judgment issued in the wake of the Sheshunoff decision.

The Steele Sturm team of Howard Steele, Charles Sturm, Kim Goodling, Kevin Kennedy and Maridee Sandridge worked along with the Weil Gotshal team of Melanie Gray, Scarlett Collings and Alex Gonzalez to win this victory for their clients.