J.P. Morgan Seeks TRO Against Bank-Based Advisor

Posted on April 27th, 2021 at 9:35 AM
J.P.  Morgan Seeks TRO Against Bank-Based Advisor

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

J.P. Morgan Securities (J.P. Morgan) has asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order (“TRO”)  barring Gabriel Gomez from soliciting his clients and using customer contact information. 

The restrictions would be in effect until a parallel claim that JP Morgan has filed against Gomez with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is resolved. According to the lawsuit, Gabriel Gomez breached a one-year non-solicitation provision in his employment contracts by calling former customers since joining Wells Fargo last month. 

According to the complaint, Gomez persuaded at least eight customers representing $2.9 million in assets to move with him to Wells Fargo. Two customers informed J.P. Morgan that Gomez pitched that he wanted to move their accounts "because Wells Fargo has better offering and better fees, "according to the lawsuit. Another customer told J.P. Morgan that Gomez asserted that "most clients" were moving to Wells Fargo with him. 

For at least the second time this year, J.P. Morgan has gone to court to prevent client defections by suing a former bank branch advisor. The case comes just two months after J.P. Morgan sued bank-based advisor Michael Bale in New Jersey. Bale allegedly transferred three clients and around $4.3 million of the $143 million in assets he managed to Merrill Lynch.

J.P. Morgan, the bank's broker-dealer, and Wells Fargo are members of the Protocol for Broker Recruiting (Protocol), allowing advisors to take limited client contact information when joining signatory firms. J.P. Morgan excludes bank branch brokers from the Protocol's protection. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents financial advisors nationwide in their employment transitions. Please contact us to discuss any issues that you may have.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, jp morgan, TRO

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