FINRA Rules in Favor of CTSW Clients BayCrest Partners and Michael Goodall in Employment Case

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Arbitration Panel recently rejected claims made by Sunrise Brokers LLC (a subsidiary of BGC Partners, Inc.) against CTSW clients BayCrest Partners LLC and its employee Michael Goodall for breach of an employment agreement Mr. Goodall entered into with Sunrise and for tortious interference with that agreement by BayCrest.

Sunrise alleged that Mr. Goodall violated the notice and non-competition provisions of his employment agreement when he resigned from Sunrise and later accepted employment with BayCrest, and that BayCrest tortiously interfered with the agreement by hiring Mr. Goodall during the purported notice and non-competition period.  In the arbitration, Sunrise sought to enforce a nine-month notice period followed by a six-month non-competition period.  Following a three-day arbitration hearing, the FINRA Panel determined that Sunrise’s legal claims and requests for relief (Sunrise sought over $2.5 million in damages) were without merit and denied all claims against BayCrest and Mr. Goodall. 

The case was handled by CTSW partner Ken Rubinstein and associate Caroline Corley.