Massachusetts Court Grants Temporary Relief in Age Discrimination Suit Against Hightower

Posted on October 29th, 2024 at 10:42 AM
Massachusetts Court Grants Temporary Relief in Age Discrimination Suit Against Hightower

From the desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law

A Massachusetts court has granted Glenn Frank, a 69-year-old advisor suing Hightower for age discrimination, a preliminary victory by temporarily blocking Hightower from enforcing its non-solicitation covenants against him. According to WealthManagement, Frank alleged that Hightower attempted to force his retirement to favor younger advisors.

Judge Debra Squires-Lee ruled in favor of Frank, citing potential "particularly egregious" harm to his career if the restrictions continued. She noted that Frank’s inability to connect with his long-standing clients would harm him more than any competitive disadvantage to Hightower. The order emphasized that Frank’s clients, many of whom had followed him to his new firm, relied on their relationship with him.

Frank’s complaint details a pattern of alleged age discrimination, claiming that Hightower systematically sidelined him to make way for younger colleagues. In 2021, supervisors removed him from the Investment Committee without notice and allegedly gave control over his client interactions to younger advisors, further reducing his hours and pay. Frank contends that Hightower falsely told clients he was unavailable and eventually suspended him when he announced his intention to file a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

WealthManagement reports that Hightower declined to comment.

 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, transition, regulatory, and disciplinary matters.

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