Merrill takes Deutsche to court over staff 'Raids'

NEW YORK - Merrill Lynch, now part of Bank of America, is suing Deutsche Bank for allegedly poaching its treasurer Eric Heaton and 11 other bankers. Merrill described the hiring spree as a "raid", which took place on February 3. The suit was filed in the New York Supreme Court in Manhattan. It claims Heaton failed to give the required six months' notice before leaving Merrill and alleges the move to Deutsche violated a non-competition clause of his contract.

Merrill accuses Deutsche of planning its sortie "many months in advance", targeting a group of employees that had previously generated large sums for the failed brokerage and investment bank. Deutsche announced it had hired the 12 bankers on the afternoon of February 3, only hours after Merrill claims they tendered their resignations.

Among those who left Merrill for Deutsche were David Heaton, head of Merrill's global asset management investment banking, Richard Slimmon, a senior European banker, and Richard Gibb, head of financial institutions in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.