Non-solicitation agreement enforced against departing Texas financial advisor: Edward Jones v. Riggan

A financial advisor based in Texas must immediately:

• cease soliciting former clients, 
• hand over client lists belonging to his prior employer, and
• otherwise honor the terms of any applicable workplace agreements. 

Those were the terms of the temporary restraining order (the “TRO”) a federal judge issued after Edward D. Jones & Co. (“Edward Jones”), the brokerage firm, brought a complaint against Russell R. Riggan (“Riggan”) shortly after Riggan decided to join a competitor, Raymond James.  

Upon his departure, Riggan, who had been managing $500 million in assets for 1,582 households, set up shop in a modular structure immediately next door to the offices he had worked from while employed by Edward Jones. Before leaving, he allegedly “physically locked out” his colleagues from such location and printed out a list of his existing clientele from his employer’s workstation. 

Under the TRO, Riggan was directed to “immediately cease all efforts of soliciting Edward Jones’s customers to move their accounts to Raymond James”; Riggan was also ordered to return any customer records belonging to Edward Jones.  

For more information on Edward Jones v. Riggan, please refer to Edward Jones v. Riggan (N.D. Tex., 2021).

As a former employee or freelancer, are you subject to a non-solicitation clause? Do you manage a business that is seeking to enforce a restrictive covenant agreement?  If so, reach out to Castle Garden Law for an introductory consultation.