The carrier and four affiliates filed suit on April 29, 2026 in the US District Court for the District of Colorado against Daniel Purcell and Dan Purcell Insurance Agency, Inc. They are seeking damages, treble damages and attorneys' fees across eight claims, including breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation, civil theft and Lanham Act violations.
Purcell had been a Farmers agent since July 1982. According to the complaint, the practice carried a high volume of commercial policies, including policies for dental practices. The current Agency Appointment Agreement was signed on April 26, 2018.
According to the complaint, Farmers' concerns started in late 2024. The carrier alleges Purcell credited cash payments to certain billing accounts but did not actually deposit the premium - allegedly keeping his own personal auto and home policies in force when they otherwise might have been subject to cancellation.
Farmers says it told Purcell about the investigation on or about January 8, 2025, interviewed him on January 14 and 22, and pulled his good-standing status on February 5. Purcell apologized during the interviews, the complaint says, but "did not provide a satisfactory answer as to why the payments in question were not deposited as required."
Farmers terminated the agreement on February 18, 2025. The termination letter reminded Purcell of his post-termination duties and told him he was "no longer authorized to use any names, logos, trademarks, service marks or symbols" tied to Farmers, and that removing signage and social media references was "your responsibility."
Those post-termination clauses are the spine of the case. Section M(4) of the AAA blocks the agent, for one year after termination, from "neither directly nor indirectly in any manner" soliciting, accepting or servicing the insurance business of any Farmers policyholder of record as of the termination date. Section M(5) bars use of Farmers' confidential information or trade secrets outside agency duties. Section N(2) requires return of all customer and policy information.
Farmers transferred the book to Scott Hoery and the Robert Hoery Insurance Agency. Almost right away, the complaint says, Hoery Insurance "began noticing a sharp attrition" of former Purcell customers. Cancellation requests rolled in, often timed close to renewal. "Roughly two dozen policies for dental practices" left Farmers in the months that followed, the complaint says. Farmers alleges that employees of the Purcell Insurance Agency were the ones submitting some of those cancellation requests to Farmers and Hoery Insurance for processing.
A cease and desist letter went out on or about April 24, 2025. According to the complaint, the defendants "seemingly ignored" it.
The branding allegations are where the case gets sharper. Farmers alleges the Purcell Insurance Agency website "was still organized to appear as a Farmers affiliated insurance agency as recently as October 2025" - eight months after termination. The agency's Facebook page, the complaint says, was still using Farmers' logo and trademarks when the suit was filed. Farmers also alleges Purcell kept Farmers signage up at his office location and continued using his Farmers phone number, which the carrier says made it less likely policyholders would screen incoming calls from him soliciting their business.
Farmers describes its customer data - contact information, premium amounts, type of insurance, expiration and renewal dates - as trade secrets held on secured platforms behind individualized passwords and multi-factor authentication. There are "no publicly available lists of Farmers' customers," the complaint states. Farmers alleges Purcell used that information to target commercial policyholders with the largest premiums.
The carrier wants damages, exemplary or treble damages under federal trade secret law, the Lanham Act and Colorado statutes, attorneys' fees, costs, and pre- and post-judgment interest.
The allegations have not been tested in court. The defendants have not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims.
