News Notes: Employer Blocks Ex-Employee Raider But Still Loses 100 Staffers

Competitors luring away workers is an increasing concern these days. In a recent case, Jeff Sposito, a managing broker with Jon Douglas Co. in Walnut Creek, quit less than a week after Coldwell Banker acquired his company. He immediately joined a rival and, allegedly within a day, persuaded more than 100 agents and office staff to join the competitor. Coldwell Banker sued and the court issued an order blocking Sposito from soliciting his former colleagues-although many were already gone. The company charged that he had violated his employment contract’s anti-raiding provision, and it’s possible he could be on the hook for hefty damages.