Markel calls for dismissal of Belisle lawsuit, says “fails to state a claim”

Markel Corporation has requested the dismissal of the lawsuit filed against its Markel CATCo Investment Management subsidiary, claiming that the suit by Tony Belisle fails to state a reasonable claim against the firm.

Prior to filing for the dismissal of the case in the district court of New Hampshire, Markel had filed a lengthy response to the claims made by Tony Belisle, the ex-CEO of Markel CATCo.

This legal saga began when Anthony Belisle, former CEO of retrocessional reinsurance investment manager Markel CATCo Investment Management, and Alissa Fredricks, former CEO of its Bermuda operations, were fired and both immediately filed suits claiming wrongful dismissal from the firm.

Markel said at the time that it had discovered what it termed a violation of a company policy relating to an undisclosed personal relationship between Belisle and Fredricks, so dismissing the pair from their jobs.

The discovery had occurred during an internal review conducted by outside legal counsel, which Markel recently said found no evidence of “bad faith in exercising business judgment” by Markel CATCo personnel when it came to setting loss reserves in late 2017 and early 2018.

The pair filed lawsuits claiming that unlawful actions, including irregular searches of their mobile phones and personal communications, plus changes to company employment policies, had resulted in their dismissal from the firm, loss of bonuses valued at $77 million and caused reputational damage as well as emotional distress.

The response to this, filed by Markel, states that Belisle had failed to be transparent with his employer and alleges his breach of conflict of interest clauses in his employment contract, related to pay and bonuses arrangements provided to Fredricks.

Markel’s response claims that Belisle failed to act in the best interests of his employer and breached his fiduciary duties. It also alleges that Belisle kept certain proprietary information after his dismissal.

The response states that all Belisle’s claims in the lawsuit are unfounded and as such Markel has filed for the suit to be dismissed due to its failure to state a valid claim.

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