Insurance Agency Awarded $600,000 in Client Theft Lawsuit
The Tel Aviv Regional Labor Court has ordered Amnon Gur Insurance Agency to pay approximately NIS 2.26 million (about $600,000) to its competitor, Ofakim Insurance Agency, in a long-standing legal dispute. The case centers on a former Ofakim employee who allegedly took her client portfolio with her when she moved to Amnon Gur.
The dispute began when the employee, Tzvia Tabor, left Ofakim to work for Amnon Gur, taking client details and insurance policies she managed, according to Ofakim's claims. The National Labor Court had previously ruled in 2024 that Tabor breached her contractual obligations, including non-competition and confidentiality clauses. The court stated that by selling client insurance transaction information to her new employer, she forfeited her right to use that information for a competing firm.
While the National Labor Court affirmed Ofakim's right to compensation for three years of lost income, it did not specify the calculation method, leaving that to the regional court. The regional court appointed an external accountant, Dr. Uri Grossman, to assess the damages. Grossman based his calculation on Ofakim's actual income from the employee's clients between 2015 and 2017, averaging about NIS 111,000 monthly. After accounting for operating expenses and a three-year period, he determined the compensation should be around NIS 1.8 million, which, with adjustments for interest and linkage, reached approximately NIS 2.3 million.
Ofakim argued that Grossman's calculation was too low, proposing damages of NIS 11.2 million based on Amnon Gur's actual earnings from the clients or at least NIS 4.4 million using a standard industry multiplier. However, the regional court, presided over by Judge Mirav Klayman, upheld Grossman's findings, stating there were no flaws in his methodology and that the National Labor Court had not mandated a specific calculation formula. The court also rejected Ofakim's challenge to the operating profit percentages determined by the expert.
Ultimately, Amnon Gur Insurance Agency must pay Ofakim NIS 2,260,967 within 30 days of the latter paying the court fee, plus NIS 50,000 in legal expenses. Proceedings against the former employee, Tabor, have been suspended due to insolvency proceedings against her.
