GFI accuses rival Tradition of "raid" on brokers

NEW YORK, March 2 (Reuters) - GFI Group Inc GFIG.O brokerage sued competitor Tradition NA, accusing it of luring away a senior executive and other brokers from its lucrative credit brokerage to an indirect subsidiary of Tradition.

The lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court on Monday said Tradition executives, including Chief Executive Officer Emil Assentato and General Counsel Chaim Levin, "personally acted to induce" former GFI Group Officer Donald Fewer to break his contract in 2008.

A representative of Tradition NA could not immediately be reached on Tuesday to comment on the lawsuit.

"Eager to raise its stature in credit brokerage, Tradition NA decided to raid GFI's credit business and identified Fewer as the catalyst for taking GFI's productive credit broker workforce to Tradition," the lawsuit said.

The complaint said Fewer was induced to breach fiduciary duties to GFI and his stock options contracts with an affiliate, Jersey Partners Inc, "leading a work force of GFI brokers to an indirect subsidiary of Tradition NA."

It said Fewer was a senior managing director of GFI Group, which he joined in 1996 and worked for more than a decade. The lawsuit said he "suddenly resigned" on April 14, 2008, and that months earlier he already had an agreement with GFI's rival.

GFI Group is seeking compensatory and punitive damages to be determined at trial.

The case is GFI Group Inc and Jersey Partners Inc v Tradition NA, New York State Supreme Court No. 600518/2010 (Reporting by Grant McCool, editing by Maureen Bavdek)