Posts tagged with "maintain status quo"

Application of FINRA Rules & Regulations for Bank’s Employment Agreement

Webster Bank, N.A. v. Cahill, 2009 Conn. Super. LEXIS 1672

Webster Bank is a regional commercial bank with business operations in lower New England that employed Mr. Daniel Cahill from April 11, 1995 to February 12, 2009. He was hired as a teller in the bank’s Bristol, CT office and was promoted to a financial consultant in 2001 to work for Webster Investment Services, the securities division of Webster Bank. The bank entered into a corporate arrangement with UVEST in 2007 and Mr. Cahill (and similar employees) had to sign a dual employment agreement.

The contract detailed the terms of his employment and contained multiple restrictive covenants. Mr. Cahill was prohibited from engaging in competing business activities within twenty-five miles of his base of operations for one year following his termination and was subject to an indefinite non-disclosure clause for Webster and UVEST’s confidential and proprietary information.

Mr. Cahill faxed in a letter of resignation to Webster on February 12, 2009 and the next day began working for RBC Bank in its Hartford, CT office where he essentially performed the same duties as he had done during his employment with Webster. Webster sued Mr. Cahill in Connecticut state court for the enforcement of the restrictive covenants contained in the dual employment agreement.

Mr. Cahill admitted that RBC was a direct competitor of Webster, that his new office is within the twenty-five mile radius prohibited area, that he had taken with him a list of 2,900-3,000 Webster customers, and had sent a solicitation letter on RBC’s stationary to all of those customers. Of these solicitations, 350-400 accounts transferred their assets to RBC, amounting to a loss of approximately $5 million in assets under management for Webster.

Employment Contract Violation

Mr. Cahill admitted that he violated the terms of the dual employment contract but argued that the court should not enforce the non-compete agreement because he was a “licensed and registered securities dealer and a financial representative”, and therefore the rules and regulations of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) governed and he had done nothing wrong.

He contended that under FINRA regulations, in an agreement referred to as the “Protocol”, he was permitted to take a copy of the customer list when he moved from Webster to RBC. These regulations permit taking a copy of names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses but not account numbers. The court found that the assertion lacked jurisdiction and was unpersuasive, and noted that FINRA was not controlling since neither Webster Bank nor UVEST were signatory members of the “Protocol”.

The court concluded that it did have jurisdiction over the case and next looked to whether the non-compete agreement was valid and enforceable under Connecticut law. Webster had a legitimate business interest that the court held warranted protection in the form of an injunction to restrict Mr. Cahill’s activities. An injunction, according to the court, was necessary to maintain the status quo and protect the interests of the parties involved in the legal dispute. The court held that the restrictions were reasonable in scope and did not overtly favor one party over the other. After establishing a need for an injunction and the reasonableness of the restrictions, the court ordered the enforcement of the non-compete agreement.

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The lawyers at Maya Murphy, P.C., are experienced and knowledgeable employment and corporate law practitioners and assist clients in New York, Bridgeport, Darien, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Norwalk, Stamford, Westport, and elsewhere in Fairfield County. If you have any questions relating to your non-compete agreement or would like to discuss any element of your employment agreement, please contact Joseph C. Maya, Esq. by phone at (203) 221-3100 or via e-mail at JMaya@Mayalaw.com.

Court Enforces Non-Compete Agreement to Protect Employer’s Business Interests

Webster Bank v. Ludwin, 2011 Conn. Super. LEXIS 127

Webster Bank is regional commercial bank with headquarters in Waterbury, Connecticut that provides financial services to customers in Connecticut, New York Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. The company employed Mr. Michael Ludwin as a dual employee with UVEST Financial Services from January 2007 until the company terminated his employment in June 2010. Mr. Ludwin signed a new employment agreement with Webster when he became a dual employee wherein the agreement contained a non-compete covenant.

The agreement, executed on February 7, 2009, prohibited Mr. Ludwin, for a period of one year following termination, from engaging in competing business activities within twenty-five miles of Webster Bank’s “base of operation”. Additionally, he was obligated to refrain from soliciting Webster’s customers and to “treat as confidential the names and addresses of customers” (non-disclosure clause).

Non-Compete Breach

Webster terminated Mr. Ludwin in June 2010 and on July 9, 2010 he began to work for Harvest Capital, LLC, a Wethersfield, CT based financial consulting firm. Webster’s counsel sent Mr. Ludwin a letter reminding him of his obligations under the non-compete agreement contained in his employment contract and demanded that he observe the enumerated restrictions. The bank sued Mr. Ludwin in Connecticut state court for violation of the covenant not to compete when Mr. Ludwin failed to curtail his activities and requested that the court issue an injunction preventing any further breaches of the agreement.

The court granted Webster’s request and ordered that Mr. Ludwin “cease and desist from competing with the plaintiffs within a twenty-five mile radius of Hamden and Milford, Connecticut for a period to end on June 30, 2011” and further ordered him to return any and all customer lists that he removed from Webster’s premises.

The Court’s Decision

The court held that injunctive relief was necessary if it was to maintain the status quo between the parties. Webster presented sufficient evidence to demonstrate that it would experience irreparable harm from Mr. Ludwin’s actions in the absence of an injunction. Its customer lists and relationships are valuable business interests that are integral to the success of the company and as such the court identified that Webster had a legitimate business interest that was afforded protection under Connecticut law. Furthermore, the court concluded that the agreement had reasonable provisions that did not excessively favor one party over the other or unnecessarily stifle their future business activities.