Wells Fargo Advisors today sued Steven Satter, a former senior in-house counsel in the firm’s Kenwood, Ohio, office, for allegedly conspiring with seven former advisors in the formation of Cincinnati-based DayMark Wealth Partners over the summer.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court Southern District of Ohio Western Division, claimed that Satter helped the splinter group create DayMark and plan a coordinated departure while still an attorney representing Wells Fargo, and now unlawfully competes with his former employer.
In addition to this lawsuit against Satter, who is not a member of Finra, Wells Fargo on July 13 filed a statement of claim with Finra and initiated arbitration against the advisory team.
The group—comprised of Michael Quin, Jason Beischel, Peter Boland, Daryl Demo, Michael Larison, Robert Prangley and Eric Larison—collectively resigned from Wells Fargo on June 6, the same day of their formal launch under the DayMark banner. At the time, they represented more than $1.2 billion in assets under management, the lawsuit said. When DayMark filed its first Form ADV with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 25, it reported more than $649 million in assets under management among 1,170 accounts held by individuals, high-net-worth individuals and businesses.
“Wells Fargo seeks damages for harm caused by [Steven Satter] who has used the privileged and confidential information he gained as a company attorney to advise a competing firm in violation of his agreements, ethical obligations, and company policy,” Wells Fargo Advisors said in a statement. “As an employee, he provided legal counsel on behalf of Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) to the same team of advisors he now advises in competing with WFA.”
Satter, when contacted for comment, categorically denied the allegations.
“They’re false. I can’t say too much because I’m a lawyer, a litigation lawyer, and this is a lawsuit,” he said. “But they’re saying I did all the preparation work ahead of time to set the company up, and none of that is true.”
Instead, he said, he joined the firm on June 6, almost two months after he left his Wells Fargo employment.
In the lawsuit, Wells Fargo alleged Satter was guilty of civil conspiracy, breach of contract, tortious interference with employment contracts, tortious interference with relationships and prospective relations, breach of fiduciary duty and duty of loyalty.
The firm asked for a preliminary and permanent injunction to keep Satter from using any privileged and confidential information gained at WFA for competitive advantage, as well as for compensatory damages in excess of $75,000, punitive damages, costs and fees, all in amounts to be determined at trial.