RJR Nabisco Inc. is suing Wellington Management to keep from having to give up investment manager Arnold Schneider, who manages $150 million for RJR's pension plan.
RJR is seeking an injunction, a waiver from Wellington and punitive damages. The case was filed in federal court in New York.
The suit is part of a two-year legal skirmish over a noncompete agreement Mr. Schneider signed when he was a partner at Wellington. State and federal courts have upheld Wellington's right to enforce the noncompete, and Mr. Schneider has been ordered to give up three clients he took with him when he left Wellington - RJR, Utah Retirement Systems and Frank Russell.
Utah Retirement has sued Wellington for transaction costs; that case is pending in federal court in Salt Lake City.
