In court filings, Merrill says Thomas has been trolling for clients by “making targeted solicitations to former Merrill employees” who may have held Merrill stock.
Thomas disputes that, saying his series of cases came from word of mouth after the son and daughter of longtime Merrill manager Jim Billington contacted him this summer and retained him.
Billington, who died in 2014, began as a broker with the firm in 1959 in the Tulsa, Okla., branch office, later becoming a branch manager and a regional director, according to the arbitration claim Thomas filed, which seeks $100 million in damages.
“Everyone at Merrill Lynch knew Jim,” Thomas said.