Hightower has dismissed a lawsuit against Darren Reinig, a former Hightower advisor, alleging he violated non-compete agreements and stole trade secrets from the firm when he left three years ago.

In a notice of voluntary dismissal filed in the Delaware District Court this week, Hightower said it was dropping the suit since the issue is being fought in arbitration. According to the notice, the American Arbitration Association has appointed an arbitration panel to hear the case.  

“I am pleased that Hightower Advisors has dismissed the lawsuit against me in the District of Delaware,” Reinig said on LinkedIn.com. “I remain hopeful that a resolution can be achieved so we can all move on.”

The court recently ruled that the non-compete agreement between Hightower and advisor Reinig was unenforceable and void under California law. But Hightower was still able to fight claims that he stole trade secrets from the firm.

San Diego, Calif.-based Reinig was the founding partner of Delphi Private Advisors, an RIA Hightower acquired in 2019 and merged with LourdMurray, another California-based firm. However, several years later, Reinig opted to leave and registered a new RIA with the SEC. When he began work at Hightower, Reinig signed a contract including confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicitation mandates.

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He was subject to a two-year non-compete, which ran through the end of December 2023, according to Robert “Robin” Traylor, Reinig’s attorney. Traylor said they reached out to Hightower and tried to get them to acknowledge the non-compete had expired. But the firm was claiming the non-compete rolls on forever through a tolling provision.

In the Delaware court decision, Judge Richard G. Andrews said Hightower’s non-compete was void under California law. Under an exception to California law, if a restrictive covenant is made in connection with the sale of a business, it’s legal. However, this exception is limited to the geographic scope of the sold business. And since Delphi was headquartered in San Diego, “restricting Reinig from engaging in investment advisory business throughout the United States is untenable,” the decision said.