Ex-Creative Planning Employees Sue Over Non-Compete Agreements

A new lawsuit filed by four former Creative Planning employees claims that their non-compete agreements with the Overland Park, Kansas-based firm illegally restrain them from working elsewhere in the industry.

The suit was filed Monday in the Superior Court of the State of California County of San Diego by Natalie DeWindt Cesmat, Darien Horton, Carleen Acosta and Monica Suzara, all of whom worked in Creative Planning’s San Diego office.

Creative Planning struck a deal on Monday with Goldman Sachs for the RIA to buy Goldman’s Personal Financial Management business, formerly United Capital, for an undisclosed sum.

“Until very recently, Plaintiffs were all employed by Creative Planning as financial professionals in Creative Planning’s San Diego office,” the suit states. Cesmat and Horton were employed as financial planners, and Acosta and Suzara were employed as administrative employees, according to the suit.

As of this year, Cesmat and Horton are now employed at Cascade Financial Partners in San Diego.

According to the suit, all of the plaintiffs “wish to continue working in California as financial professionals, but their employment agreements illegally restrain them from doing so.”