Wells Fargo Files Lawsuit against Former Broker for Contacting Former Customers

Posted on October 27th, 2017 at 12:10 PM

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

Wells Fargo Advisors has filed a lawsuit against former broker, Robert D. Meyers and his son, Mathew Meyers in order to prevent them from contacting former customers in an effort to recruit them to their new registered investment adviser firm in Columbus, Ohio.

More specifically, while still employed at Wells Fargo, Mr. Meyers and his son registered their new firm, Meyers Wealth Management, LLC with the Ohio Secretary of State. After Mr. Meyers’ termination, Wells Fargo discovered that he was contacting former customers in order to persuade them to join his new firm. Mr. Meyers then was terminated from Wells Fargo for a purportedly separate action that stemmed from allegations of “selling away.” 

In its lawsuit, Wells Fargo requested a restraining order prohibiting Mr. Meyers, his son, and anyone employed at the RIA from contacting former customers. In addition, Wells Fargo also argued that the defendants violated their employment agreements by taking information protected under privacy law.

In its complaint, Wells Fargo argued that Mr. Meyers is not entitled to protection under the Protocol for Broker Recruiting because his RIA did not become a member of the Protocol until a day after he was terminated.  Wells Fargo also asserted that Mr. Meyers’ son violated his recruiting pact by taking customer account numbers and for failing to turn in his Wells Fargo laptop after he left the firm. Wells Fargo argued that Mr. Meyers’ son went beyond the scope of the Protocol, which allows brokers to take with them only client names, addresses, phone numbers, emails and account titles.

Lawsuits like the one filed by Wells Fargo have increased recently because many brokers are breaking away from the industry amid a slowdown in recruiting of veteran advisors. Furthermore, there has been an addition of more than 1,000 small advisory firms to the Protocol.

The attorneys at Eccleston Law assist reps by negotiating their transition agreements, and by defending reps when things go wrong by planning their transitions in advance.

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial advisors including Broker Litigation & ArbitrationStrategic Consulting ServicesRegulatory  MattersTransition Contract Review, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

 

 

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

Tags: Jim Eccleston, Eccleston Law, Eccleston Law LLC, Eccleston, Wells Fargo, broker

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