Ohio's high court agrees to hear Boardman insurance agent's appeal against Nationwide

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear a dispute between an insurance giant and its former agent, whose office was in Boardman Plaza.

On Wednesday, the state’s top court agreed to hear Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.’s appeal of its dispute with Christine Lucarell.

Nationwide, of Columbus, appealed to that court the unanimous decision of a three-judge panel of the Youngstown-based 7th District Court of Appeals that gave Lucarell more than $2.3 million.

Nationwide’s appeal was accompanied by two friend-of-the-court briefs on its behalf, one from the insurance industry and the other from broader business interests.

Lucarell had sued the insurance giant, alleging it breached her contract as a Nationwide agent.

She also alleged Nationwide recruited her and about 400 other agents with the intention of terminating their agencies once they generated a profitable book of business for Nationwide.

Nationwide, however, said its objective was “to recruit agents and position them for success, not failure.”

Read more about the case in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.