DALLAS -- Susan Soussan, the arbitrator who presided over the March hearing involving Texans Insurance Group and Kevin M. Curley, said it was clear that there was animosity between the two parties. However, an "abrupt and unwarranted termination" was not the way to solve the problem.

"From the testimony and the demeanor of the witnesses at the arbitration hearing, it became obvious that a personal animus was building up between Texans and Curley," Soussan said. "Curley had just sold the business he had built over an eighteen year period. Texans took over a business with which it was not familiar. More of an effort should have been made by Texans to work with Curley and vice-versa."

The $2 billion Texans Credit Union bought Curley Insurance Group LLC and several other companies from Curley in January 2007. He was fired in April 2007 for claims that included insubordination and alleged unauthorized purchases of tail insurance policies. On July 8, Soussan ruled that Texans Insurance did not have reasonable cause for terminating Curley.

"This could have been done through counseling and successive corrective actions not by an abrupt and unwarranted termination," she said. "People work together to correct behavior patterns in the work place especially when a company is only four months into a three-year employment agreement with its president."

Texans Insurance said it is reviewing its options following the arbitrator's decision.