“We are satisfied with the settlement in this litigation, and we believe this matter was resolved appropriately within the judicial system,” says J. Powell Brown, president and chief executive officer of Brown & Brown.

Under the agreement, the five executives at Assured Partners agree to have no contact with Brown & Brown executives concerning any business matters for a period of 18 months. The firm is also prohibited from hiring any Brown & Brown employees during that same period.

For a two-year period, the firm is prohibited from doing business with clients they had once done business with when they were with Brown & Brown.

The executives also agree to return or destroy any confidential or trade-secret information they may have taken with them when they left Brown & Brown.

The settlement was approved by Judge Terence R. Perkins, at Deland in Volusia Country in Florida.

During last Tuesday’s earnings call, Brown indicated that the firm had reached an agreement in principal with the executives, but declined to give any additional details at the time.

Commenting on the settlement, Assured’s Henderson says, “We are very pleased to have it settled. We are very excited about some opportunities we have lined up and the settlement does not hurt or hinder or delay what we are doing in terms of moving on with our game plan. We are very pleased with the outcome and looking forward to getting it behind us.”