Citi wins order against ex-law firm unit banker who joined BMO
By David Thomas
Nov 27 (Reuters) -A federal judge in San Francisco has temporarily blocked a former Citigroup C.N private banker from using confidential information related to Citi's law firm clients following his move to competitor Bank of Montreal BMO.TO.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer on Tuesday ordered John Mitchell, a former managing director in Citi Global Wealth at Work's law firm unit, to return any of the bank's records within 24 hours.
Breyer said Citi showed that Mitchell "likely misappropriated its trade secrets in the form of confidential client information" and "likely breached" some of his contractual obligations to Citi.
Citibank and Citigroup Global Markets sued Mitchell and former Global Wealth at Work law firm unit senior vice president Benjamin Carr last week.
The San Francisco-based bankers were among 18 from Citi who joined BMO's law firm wealth management group in a move announced last month. BMO is not a defendant.
Citi accused Mitchell and Carr of taking or retaining the bank's confidential and proprietary information and using it at BMO, including clients' cash balances and the maturity dates of savings accounts. Mitchell and Carr have denied the allegations as "baseless speculation."
Lawyers for the two bankers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. A spokesperson for Citi declined to comment. A BMO spokesperson said "we respect the Court's decision and will continue to defend against these claims."
Breyer's ruling granting a temporary restraining order cited an email Mitchell sent an unnamed Citi client earlier this month in which he referenced the client's "high cash position."
"The court concludes that such information is a protected trade secret," Breyer said.
Breyer denied Citi's request for a similar injunction against Carr, finding it did not show that Carr has "used or misappropriated any client lists, client information, or other trade secret while at BMO."
Breyer's order against Mitchell expires Dec. 11. A hearing in the case is set for Dec. 13.
The case is Citibank, N.A. v. Mitchell, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 3:24-cv-08224
For Citi: Stacy Fode and Natalie Bryans of Nukk-Freeman & Cerra; and Leonard Weintraub of Paduano & Weintraub
For Mitchell and Carr: Paul Riehle and Tracey Salmon-Smith of Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
Reporting by David Thomas
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
