When executives at local insurance agency Zander Insurance Group consulted an Indianapolis-based accounting firm about recapitalizing the company, they were told they would receive a $2.4 million tax break.

But when Zander, which has been around for four generations and is one of the region’s largest independent insurance agencies, followed through on the recommended employee stock ownership plan conversion, those tax benefits were never realized. So, Partner Jeffrey Zander and his agency last month filed a lawsuit against Katz Sapper & Miller in Davidson County Chancery Court.

The lawsuit, which this week was transferred to U.S. District Court, alleges that a spreadsheet prepared by the accounting firm was inaccurate. The supposed tax benefits in fact did “not shelter income from federal taxation in any respect,” according to the suit.

The suit accuses the accounting firm of negligence, misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty. Zander is asking the court for more than $2.4 million in compensatory damages.

An attorney for Katz Sapper & Miller said he had only just reviewed the lawsuit and had no comment.