Blackstone success in blockbuster Team Move trial

Willis Re recruited 22 employees from Guy Carpenter, all of whom resigned over a short period of time, including John Fletcher, the CEO of Guy Carpenter’s Bermuda office, and members of his team. Craig Rajgopaul KC, Emmeline Plews and Rhys Jones acted for Mr Fletcher.

Guy Carpenter brought claims alleging wide ranging wrongdoing and unlawful means conspiracies, accused Mr Fletcher of acting as a recruiting sergeant, and sought swingeing injunctive relief on a springboard and quia timet basis, including a prohibition on recruiting employees and dealing with numerous clients until April 2027.

The Defendants admitted some limited breaches of duty in their defences, and following trial Birt J found that they were in breach of duties to only “a slightly greater extent” than they had admitted (and in relation to Mr Fletcher, those breaches were only in relation to facts he had admitted). Birt J rejected all of Guy Carpenter’s other allegations of wrongdoing by Mr Fletcher. He found that the “relatively limited breaches of duty and other unlawful acts” by the Defendants did not entitle Guy Carpenter to any injunctive relief at all following trial. He found Mr Fletcher’s evidence “honest and straightforward”, and accepted submissions that the witnesses cross-examined by the Blackstone team were “keen to toe the party line for Guy Carpenter” noting that they had to “retreat from some of the positions taken in their witness statements”.

The judgment is lengthy (125 pages) and contains many points of interest for those who practice in the employee competition sphere. It will be music to the ears of employers who wish to recruit teams that the High Court has confirmed that "seeking to recruit a team does not have to be unlawful” (§371). A fuller analysis of key points of interest will follow.

Craig Rajgopaul KC, Emmeline Plews and Rhys Jones were instructed by Caroline Field of Fox & Partners.

The judgment may be found here.