NU Online News Service, Jan. 3, 10:30 a.m.EST

Insurance broker Aon won another round in its ongoing disputewith Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. over the poaching of businessand employees, which allegedly did serious harm to Aon'sConstruction Services Group.

Aon won a preliminary injunction against Newport Beach,Calif.-based Alliant in New York State Supreme Court in ManhattanonDec. 20, baring former Aon employee Michael Cusack and Alliant fromsoliciting business from or entering into any business with Aoncustomers that any former Aon employees now with Alliant had workedfor. It also bars Alliant from soliciting any Aon ConstructionServices employees to come to work for the company.

In his decision, Justice Bernard J. Fried, foundCusack and others violated their non-compete agreements when theyleft Aon and joined Alliant.

The judge says Cusack, who worked in the Northeast, and othershad to know that executives in Aon's Construction Services Groupwere negotiating with Alliant and that they would all be leavingAon at the same time.

Fried says that if the case should go to trial Aon is likely tosucceed in its claim that Cusack breached an employment agreementand other related standards of his employment. Aon is also likelyto succeed in its claim that Cusack breached his non-competeagreement, the judge says.

However, Fried says there is no evidence that Cusack or otheremployees made off with any company trade secrets.

The determination was another in a series of decisions againstAlliant that courts have made since employees of the CSG beganleaving in June of 2001.

In June of last year a Chicago court made a similar finding against Alliant.

According to Judge Fried's decision, the Aon group eventuallylost 60 employees to Alliant with more than 100 broker-of-recordletters transferring more than $20 million in revenue from Aon toAlliant.

On the day Cusack and Peter Arkley, former chief executiveofficer of Aon CSG left, 15 Aon clients moved their business toAlliant and 38 employees in the group left to join Alliant.