Lawyers for the former head of a large insurer say arbitrators have concluded that he was dismissed without cause.
A 3-member panel assigned by the American Arbitration Association, New York, has ruled unanimously that Massachusetts Mutual Insurance Company, Springfield, Mass., failed to follow the process spelled out in the contract of Robert O’Connell when it fired him from his posts as chairman, president and chief executive officer in June 2005, according to O’Connell’s press representatives.
O’Connell’s lawyers, Michael Keating and Dean Richlin of Foley Hoag L.L.P., Boston, believe the arbitration ruling requires MassMutual to pay O’Connell a $50 million award and also to cover the cost of the arbitration expenses and of O’Connell’s legal bills, O’Connell’s representatives say.
O’Connell’s lawyers allege that the MassMutual board relied on a biased presentation of stale evidence when it decided to fire O’Connell, and that the board failed to give O’Connell a chance to respond to the allegations.