Broker Bid-rigging Lawsuit Partly Restored by Appellate Court

The US Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has opted to partially restore a nationwide class-action lawsuit in which several insurance companies and brokers were charged with bid-rigging, a move that essentially reinstates antitrust and racketeering claims at the center of which are March & McLennan companies.

Source: Source: Reactions | Published on August 20, 2010

The ruling also reinstated racketeering claims against some brokerages, as well as some claims under New Jersey law.

It was only a partial defeat for the brokers and insurers, though. The report said that the three-judge panel upheld the rest of a September 2007 decision by US District Judge Garrett Brown in Trenton, New Jersey, that had dismissed the lawsuit.

The brokers were accused of colluding with the insurers to steer clients to particular insurers in exchange for payments.

In February of last year Marsh agreed to pay $69 million to settle its part of the class-action case. It had already agreed to pay $850 million to settle Spitzer's charges in January 2005.