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A San Antonio jury this week\u00a0was unable to reach a verdict in Argo Group\u2019s lawsuit against rival insurer Dual North America over the mass exodus of 27 Argo employees to Dual in 2023. A judge declared a mistrial and ordered the parties back to mediation. Shown is the Lady Justice statue atop a fountain in front of the\u00a0Bexar County Courthouse.<\/p>\n
Billy Calzada\/Express-News<\/p>\n
Argo Group has operations at 711 Broadway in San Antonio.\u00a0The specialty insurer had sued rival Dual North America over the defection of 27 Argo employees to Dual in 2023.<\/p>\n
Patrick Danner\/Staff photo<\/p>\n
Argo Group was acquired by Brookfield Reinsurance for $1.1 billion in late 2023.<\/p>\n
Patrick Danner\/Staff photo<\/p>\n
A jury in San Antonio deadlocked after more than 10 hours of deliberations over two days in\u00a0Argo Group\u2019s<\/a> $900 million lawsuit accusing a rival insurer and two former executives of raiding its surety business.<\/p>\n State District Judge Angelica Jimenez<\/a> granted Argo\u2019s unopposed motion for a mistrial Wednesday after jurors said they couldn\u2019t reach a verdict. She ordered\u00a0Argo and Dual North America Inc.<\/a> back to mediation with\u00a0attorney Bill Ford<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The deadlock came after a 3\u00bd-week trial in which\u00a0Argo Group International Holdings Inc. and two related companies sought $907 million in damages, including punitive damages. Argo accused Dual and former Argo executives Mark Farina<\/a> and Brendan Keating<\/a> of orchestrating the April 2023 departure of 27 employees from Argo\u2019s surety business. Farina, of New Jersey, and Keating, of Illinois,\u00a0were among those who left. The defendants denied the allegations.<\/p>\n Dallas attorney Trey Cox<\/a>, who represents Argo, asked jurors to award his client $293.8 million for lost profits, $286.3 million for the lost value of its surety business, $9.5 million in expenses and $1.3 million in Farina\u2019s and Keating\u2019s salaries. Argo also sought $316.3 million in punitive damages.<\/p>\n It was unclear whether the case would go back to trial if mediation fails. Cox\u00a0declined to comment, and an Argo spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n San Antonio Express News Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source on Google to see more of us when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n RELATED: \u2018Conspired in the shadows\u2019: Insurer accuses ex-top execs, rival of scheme to steal 24 employees<\/a><\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n San Antonio lawyer Ricardo Cedillo<\/a>, who represents Dual, said the company is prepared to go to trial again if necessary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re at the end of an effort that took close to four years where (Argo\u2019s) objective was to walk away with nearly a billion dollars in damages and exemplary damages. They walk away with nothing,\u201d Cedillo said. \u201cTheir case has no merit.\u201d<\/p>\n Cedillo said Dual\u2019s representatives later polled the jurors and found them split 6-6 on liability. Eleven of the 12 jurors, he said, favored awarding Argo no damages.<\/p>\n \u201cArgo had its day in court and could not convince this jury,\u201d said San Antonio attorney Steve Chiscano<\/a>, who represents Farina and Keating.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Argo sale<\/p>\n At the time of the mass departures, Argo was a Bermuda-based publicly traded specialty insurer with a significant San Antonio presence. Bermuda-based Brookfield Reinsurance had agreed two months earlier to\u00a0acquire the company<\/a> for $1.1 billion. The deal closed in November 2023, taking Argo off the New York Stock Exchange.<\/p>\n Argo\u2019s surety business was a major operation, generating about $200 million in annual gross written premiums before the mass departure. In 2024,\u00a0Argo sold a majority of the business to Applied Surety Underwriters<\/a>.<\/p>\n San Diego-based Dual North America is part of\u00a0Howden Group Holdings<\/a> of London.\u00a0Argo accused Dual of using the departing employees, including Farina and Keating, to build a competing surety operation.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Argo accused Dual and former executives Farina and Keating of spending months planning an effort to build Dual\u2019s surety business by recruiting nearly the entire Argo Surety underwriting team.<\/p>\n According to the latest version of the complaint, Farina and Keating began working with Dual in 2022 on business plans for a new surety operation, while still employed by Argo, and helped identify and recruit Argo employees.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n