Roberto Clemente Jr., family members sue Allstate, alleging discrimination by insurer

The Roberto Clemente Jr. Family Agency filed a federal lawsuit this week against Allstate and several people affiliated with the insurer, alleging breach of contract and claims they were discriminated against and ultimately shut down.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Roberto Clemente Jr. and his wife Kailee Clemente, brother-in-law Ryan Norton and mother-in-law, Kimberly Dschuhan. Clemente Jr. and Dschuhan were licensed agents and shared an ownership stake in the Roberto Clemente Jr. Family Agency in Bloomfield with Kailee Clemente. Norton worked as an insurance agent.

Defendants in the lawsuit include Allstate; John Tomaino and Tomaino Insurance Agency, which took over the Clemente agency; and Justin Young, an Allstate field sales leader.

In a written statement, an Allstate spokesman said, “These allegations of discrimination have no merit. Inclusive diversity and equity is a core value for Allstate and is essential to who we are and how we lead in society.”

Tomaino said he had just learned of the lawsuit and could not comment.

According to a complaint filed in the case, Dschuhan previously worked for Nationwide Insurance and sought to obtain her own agency.

Working with Clemente Jr. and his wife, Dschuhan bought a book of business in July 2017 that had been owned by Daniel Cone. The value was $1.3 million, and they paid approximately $225,000, the complaint said. The sale was contingent on the agency remaining affiliated with Allstate.

However, in January 2018, the lawsuit said Dschuhan was informed by Young that they would not be able to use the name “Roberto Clemente Jr. Agency” because financial backers are not to be used in agency names. Instead, Young wrote to Dschuhan, only the name of the person holding the license, in that case Dschuhan, could be used.

Ultimately, after they complained, the lawsuit said they were able to move forward as the Roberto Clemente Jr. Agency and executed a contract with Allstate in June 2018.

But that was not the end of their problems, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said Allstate refused to change the signage on the building when they opened their agency and instead used blue tape to cover the name of the previous owner.

“This caused clients to confuse plaintiff’s business with a business that was no longer operational,” the complaint said.

The lawsuit also said that when Roberto Clemente III was working a booth advertising Allstate and their agency at an event in Downtown’s David L. Lawrence Convention Center, he was the target of racial slurs. When approached about the incident, Allstate said they should no longer participate in vendor shows and instead use postcard mailers for advertising, the complaint said.

“By telling plaintiffs that they should not make public appearances, Allstate validated the racist notion that minorities should just not participate so they can avoid discrimination,” the complaint said.

Then, on July 28, 2020, the complaint said Dschuhan received a call from an Allstate fraud investigator who questioned the agency’s practice of applying a widow discount to certain policies. The plaintiffs said they applied the discounts in accordance with how they were trained by Allstate, but a month later, Dschuhan learned that their contract was being terminated because of fraud.

“They informed her that she had to close her office immediately. And they gave her only two hours to accomplish this task, which included wiping her computers, making final deposits, and placing a closed sign on the door,” the complaint said.

After the plaintiffs closed, Allstate told them the company had the right to approve any buyer to whom the Clemente agency wanted to sell their book of clients, and that the sale needed to be completed by Dec. 1, 2020. The lawsuit said Allstate interfered with their ability to sell, and they were never able to do so. Instead, the plaintiffs said they learned in February that an agent who previously trained them, John Tomaino, would take over the agency.

The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiffs lost the full value of their investment and insurance business and suffered damage to their professional and personal relationships and reputations. Claims in the lawsuit include race discrimination, hostile work environment and retaliation; breach of contract; unjust enrichment and fraud.