McManis Faulkner obtained a $5.3 million arbitration award on behalf of an accomplished wealth advisor in a breach of contract case against a former business associate. The client, a successful Silicon Valley wealth advisor, decided to retire after thirty years in business and transfer his practice to an associate. Before the client retired, he and his associate entered into a revenue sharing agreement whereby the client agreed to hand over his entire client base to the associate in exchange for an agreement that the client would receive 13% of the net revenues for a twenty-year period. Upon signing the agreement, the client transferred his entire business to the associate and retired. After seven years of paying the client according to their agreement, the associate repudiated the contract and refused to make any further payments.
Although the agreement contained an arbitration clause, the associate refused to arbitrate the dispute. McManis Faulkner successfully petitioned the Court to compel the matter to arbitration. Following a three day arbitration hearing and extensive post-arbitration briefing, the Arbitrator awarded McManis Faulkner’s client the full amount of damages he sought for breach of the contract — $5.3 million.