Markel, a Virginia-based insurance and investment company, filed a complaint for declaratory judgment on Dec. 4 in Georgia Middle District Court centered on a dispute over an agreement to provide agricultural consulting services. The complaint, brought by Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith and attorney Seth Michael Friedman, names Slate Consulting and other claimants concerning underlying litigation which alleges that a citrus grove was infected with canker due to negligence, causing nearly $9 million in damages. The case is 1:23-cv-00207, Markel Insurance Company v. Conley.