NU Online News Service, Aug. 19, 11:35 a.m. EDT

A federal appeals court has vacated the decision by a districtcourt three years ago to dismiss antitrust and racketeeringcomplaints against numerous insurers and brokers allegedly involvedin a bid-rigging scheme with Marsh & McLennan.

The 3^rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphiasaid it finds that plaintiffs do have grounds to go after thedefendants with claims based on the alleged violations of theSherman Antitrust Act and Racketeer Influenced and CorruptOrganizations (RICO) act.

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey had ruledon several occasions that plaintiffs in the consolidatedcase--pertaining to claims regarding commercial and employeebenefits insurance--could not use the Sherman and RICO claimsbecause it found plaintiffs "lacked requisite factual specificity,"according to the 200-page decision.

The suit is a federal action from numerous businesses,individuals, public entities, employers and employees whichsurfaced as a result of a 2004 investigation by New York's attorneygeneral, who filed a civil complaint in state court against Marsh& McLennan, alleging bid-rigging for insurance contracts.

The matter is remanded to the district court for furtherproceedings, according to court documents.

Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC) in March 2009 settled its involvement in the suit for more than $83.5million.

Dozens of other insurance, reinsurance and brokerage companiesremain involved in the litigation.

According to court filings, the MMC settlement awarded over200,000 plaintiffs more than $69 million. MMC also paid more than$14.5 million in legal fees to the attorneys who represented theplaintiffs.

The brokerage firm settled the case with the New York AttorneyGeneral's Office in early 2005.