Brokers Arthur J. Gallagher and Alliant Insurance Services jointly filed to tell a judge they have agreed to work out a settlement to end a short but contentious dispute over employee-poaching accusations.

According to a status report filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, Gallagher and Alliant “reached an agreement in principle” on Sept. 8 to settle a late-July lawsuit filed by Gallagher against Alliant, alleging Alliant was “engaged in a corporate raid of Gallagher’s Chicago office.” Now they will work together to finalize a settlement.

The suit was filed after eight women over several days in July gave Gallagher their abrupt resignations, effective immediately, in a move Gallagher alleged was orchestrated by Alliant to steal clients. Alliant shot back at its rival broker with allegations of “rampant sexism, discrimination, and unfair treatment of women” at Gallagher. Alliant’s court filing included declarations from its new female hires, outlining the alleged sexism, discrimination and lack of accommodations by Gallagher.

Gallagher denied the accusations and said in a subsequent filing that Alliant was deflecting from its alleged “scheme to steal” employees and clients, as it has in the past against Gallagher and other brokers. However, Gallagher’s request for a restraining order against Alliant was denied.

Gallagher said Alliant faces more than 40 lawsuits in dozens of jurisdictions from the likes of Aon, Lockton, Willis and NFP. In September 2020, Gallagher sued Alliant for poaching and has filed similar suits, all ongoing, in California, Florida, Massachusetts and Texas, according to court records.

In the joint filing on Sept. 14, Gallagher and Alliant said they will suspend discovery, and requested that the court order a status report be filed in 30 days if the brokers have not fully resolved the lawsuit.

The case is Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. v. Alliant Insurance Services, Inc., 1:22-cv-03931, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois.