Morgan Stanley is seeking a temporary restraining order against a former representative who switched to Wells Fargo, alleging he breached his contractual obligations by soliciting Morgan Stanley's clients.
Morgan Stanley is alleging that Gregory Chevrier of Leesburg, Va., who resigned from the firm's Newport News, Va., office in February to joing Wells Fargo Clearing Services, violated non-solicitation and confidentiality agreements in his contract, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The firm is seeking a temporary restraining order pending the outcome of a complaint filed against Chevrier with Finra, according to the lawsuit.
Neither Chevrier nor his attorneys could immediately be reached for comment.
“Morgan Stanley has suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm and loss,” the firm declared in its lawsuit.
The lawsuit also accuses Chevrier of violating the provisions of a succession planning agreement, under which the widow of one of his longtime team members is drawing retirement income from clients who were serviced by Chevrier. Under the agreement, called Morgan Stanley's Former Advisor Program (FAP), "financial advisors who retire from Morgan Stanley under FAP (and their estates in the event of death) may receive a percentage of revenues on client accounts they managed at the time of their termination of employment for up to five years provided the client accounts remain at Morgan Stanley."
Morgan Stanley said it received about $2.5 million annually in revenue from the $280 million in client assets Chevrier managed at the time of his resignation.
"Financial advisors like Defendant’s former partner (and his widow) who participate in FAP rely on Morgan Stanley to ensure financial advisors like Defendant do not violate their contractual commitments under FAP," the lawsuit stated.
Morgan Stanley alleged that Chevrier has continued to solicit his former Morgan Stanley clients since leaving in February, with offers including no fees for one year.
"Perhaps most troubling, he has been disparaging a seasoned Morgan Stanley financial advisor by telling Morgan Stanley clients he is 'inexperienced,' the lawsuit states. "He has also disparaged Morgan Stanley by telling clients that 'Morgan Stanley is in trouble, the CEO was fired,'" the lawsuit stated, adding that those accusations are all untrue.