Mercer World Advisors has filed a lawsuit in opposition to Capital Metropolis Membership, a social membership in Atlanta, for failing to reply to a subpoena in a case the RIA filed in opposition to former agency advisors final yr.
Late final yr, Mercer filed a go well with in opposition to ACG Wealth, a agency it acquired in 2021, and its founders, Jeffrey T. Shaver and Joseph “Jody” Younger. The go well with alleges they violated the asset buy settlement, failing to make sure the retention of key personnel, “as an alternative apparently taking the cash from the sale and heading to the golf course, particularly Capital Metropolis Membership,” Mercer claims. The agency withheld a portion of their earnout because of the alleged underperformance.
Mercer additionally claimed the 2 violated their employment agreements with the RIA, saying they didn’t reply to electronic mail messages, often signal on to the corporate’s pc programs, nor attend required conferences and trainings. Additionally they failed to reply to firm executives and herald new shoppers or advisors.
The subpoena contains 12 requests for manufacturing from Capital Metropolis, together with the lads’s visits to the membership, fees incurred at the institution’s restaurant or bar and even golf scores.
A spokesperson for Capital Metropolis didn’t return a request for remark previous to publication, nor did an lawyer representing Mercer.
“In our opinion, that is simply Mercer making an attempt to publicly discredit Mr. Shaver and Mr. Younger by intrusively making an attempt to get details about them, their household, being members of those golf equipment,” mentioned Scott M. Ratchick, an lawyer at Chamberlain Hrdlicka White Williams & Aughtry representing Shaver and Younger.
ACG, Shaver and Younger filed counterclaims in extra of $7 million, together with claims that Mercer violated the asset buy settlement and wrongful termination.
“We declare that our shoppers Jeff Shaver and Jody Younger had been wrongfully terminated from employment and in addition that Mercer has improperly withheld over $1 million on a frivolous ‘indemnity declare’ that has no advantage by any means,” Ratchick mentioned. “Mercer is doing that simply to break our shoppers.”
“They took actions meant to trigger our shoppers to not earn a considerable earn-out cost,” he added. “Specifically, they took actions to trigger a number of brokers to not transition over to Mercer. Consequently, a considerable quantity of property underneath administration didn’t transfer.”
Younger and Shaver launched their state-registered funding advisor this yr, 34 Monetary, in Watkinsville, Ga., in response to regulatory filings.
