Goldman sues 7 former execs over C. Suisse move

UPDATE 1-Goldman sues 7 former execs over C. Suisse move

Thu Feb 18, 2010 8:56am EST

* Defendants broke non-solicitation deal - court papers (Adds 'no comment' from Credit Suisse)

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) sued seven of its former private wealth management division executives for abruptly leaving the company to join rival Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) early this month, U.S. court documents show.

Three investment professionals at the vice-president level, two associates and two managers left Goldman Sachs on Feb. 5 to join Credit Suisse, which had induced the team with tens of millions of dollars for the defection, Goldman said in the court filing.

Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX) declined to comment, while Goldman Sachs (GS.N) was not immediately available for comment.

The defendants, who worked at Goldman's Atlanta office, immediately began soliciting Goldman's clients and employees in violation of the non-solicitation agreement agreed to by them, Goldman said in the documents.

One of the defendants, David Greene, had informed Goldman's Atlanta office head David Fox that Credit Suisse had agreed to pay him $11 million to join the firm, the documents show.

The other six defendants listed in the complaint are Craig Savage, Andrew Thompson, Sharran Srivatsaa, John Pitt, Stephanie Dennard and Kim Tyson.

In the complaint, Goldman requested the court restrain the defendants from using or disclosing Goldman's proprietary information and to return any company documents that they may have.

The case is In re: Goldman, Sachs & Co. v. Greene et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, No. 1:10-cv-00453.

(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore and Catherine Bosley in Zurich; Editing by Erica Billingham) link