Full question:
I bought a book from a financial advisor, who was my partner with a 3 year sunset retirement agreement written by our firm ABC. The buyout was complete on 12/23/08. On 1/9/09 my team left firm ABC and signed a contract with the new firm XYZ. The sunset agreement was written by the first firm without a non-compete agreement. On 1/12/09 retired FA came back to firm ABC and proceeded to call the clients to persuade them to stay at firm ABC. He did not have a valid registration, so he was calling on behalf of a third party FA at firm ABC. Do we have any recourse. This has been ultimate betrayal.
- Category: Employment
- Subcategory: NonCompete Agreement
- Date:
- State: Florida
Answer:
The options available to you depend on whether there was an employment contract with the retired financial advisor (FA) and if it included any non-compete or non-disclosure clauses. Typically, employers may have non-solicitation agreements to prevent employees from recruiting each other's staff. However, without such agreements, it is generally legal for one employer to recruit employees from another firm.
A court may enforce a non-compete agreement if it is reasonable in terms of time and geographic scope, ensuring the employee can still earn a living. Such agreements may also include terms that prohibit sharing confidential information or soliciting other employees. The employment relationship itself is usually sufficient consideration to make the contract enforceable.
If another employer knowingly interferes with a non-compete agreement, they may be liable for damages due to intentional interference with a contract.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
