Greenlight Capital, Inc. and DME Capital Management, LP, allege that former analyst James T. Fishback has harassed, defamed, and attempted to harm them after his resignation.
Greenlight Capital, Inc., DME Capital Management, LP,
Plaintiffs,
-vs.-
James T. Fishback,
Defendant.
Complaint
Plaintiffs, Greenlight Capital, Inc. (“Greenlight”) and DME Capital Management, LP (“DME”) (collectively “Plaintiffs”), by and through their undersigned counsel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, for their complaint (the “Complaint”) against Defendant James T. Fishback (“Defendant” or “Fishback”) allege as follows:
Nature Of The Action
1. Fishback is a former Greenlight Research Analyst who left Greenlight on August 15, 2023. Correctly deducing that he was about to be terminated for his poor performance and lack of accountability, Fishback resigned on July 31, 2023. Ever since, he has been on a campaign to harass, intimidate and defame Greenlight and its co-founder, David Einhorn, by disparaging them, by falsely inflating his title, responsibilities and contributions to Greenlight, by claiming a track record that does not belong to him, by commencing complaints and litigation under false pretenses, and by seeking to interfere with Greenlight’s relationships including with its customers in violation of Fishback’s legal duties to Greenlight.
2. In addition to seeking to harm Greenlight, Fishback purports to have formed a competing fund, Azoria Partners (“Azoria”). Indeed, Fishback lied to Greenlight even before he resigned, concealing the fact that he formed Azoria as early as July 4, 2023, almost a full month before he noticed his resignation. Instead of following industry practice and the law, Fishback began a campaign to attract investors to Azoria by attempting to expropriate portions of Greenlight’s track record that don’t belong to him, by making false statements about his responsibilities at Greenlight, and by misappropriating and misusing Greenlight’s Confidential Information (defined below).
3. Fishback falsely represented himself to industry contacts and at industry events as Greenlight’s “Head of Macro” and the person “running macro investing” at Greenlight and responsible for the “insane” performance of Greenlight’s macro investment portfolio. None of these things were true. Fishback was hired as a Research Analyst, and was never promoted by Greenlight to “Head of Macro.” In fact, the title “Head of Macro” has never existed at Greenlight, and Mr. Einhorn alone, not Fishback, had the sole authority and discretion to manage and run Greenlight’s macro investment portfolio, and Mr. Einhorn was responsible for its performance. Fishback made these false statements to misleadingly inflate his perceived abilities and responsibilities and to take credit for Greenlight’s track record, goodwill, and reputation. Fishback apparently thought that this would provide him and Azoria with more credibility and help attract investors at Greenlight’s expense.
4. After noticing his resignation, during his final few days at Greenlight, Fishback forwarded Confidential Information from his Greenlight email address to his personal email addresses in violation of his Employment Agreement (defined below). This stolen information included Greenlight’s then-current portfolio of investments and documents reflecting Greenlight’s macro investing track record, which constitute Greenlight’s extremely sensitive and valuable proprietary information. This was just the tip of the iceberg, as a later investigation revealed that Fishback had sent Greenlight Confidential Information to his personal email accounts on dozens of occasions during his tenure at Greenlight.
5. Since leaving Greenlight, Fishback has become even bolder in his wrongful conduct.
6. First, Fishback has engaged in a publicity blitz including conferences, podcasts, social media posts and other written publications to publicly use the false “Head of Macro” title, to falsely state that he “ran macro investing” at Greenlight, and to falsely claim credit for the performance of Greenlight’s macro investment portfolio. These statements are injurious to and malign Greenlight by falsely communicating to the world that Fishback, and not Mr. Einhorn, was responsible for Greenlight’s macro investment portfolio and its performance, when in fact, the exact opposite is true.
7. In fact, Fishback had absolutely no discretion whatsoever over what macro investments went into Greenlight’s portfolio, how they were sized or risk managed, when profits were taken or when such positions were to be closed out. Fishback had no ability or responsibility to take or reduce risk.
8. Fishback knowingly, recklessly, and maliciously made these false claims, while knowing full well that only Mr. Einhorn actually had such discretion.
9. Second, in an attempt to intimidate Greenlight from correcting the public record, Fishback filed a frivolous lawsuit against Greenlight premised on the idea that it was somehow defamatory for Greenlight to tell the truth to people who inquired, that Fishback did not hold a “Head of Macro” title. He voluntarily dismissed his claims in favor of arbitration. To date, Fishback has not commenced such arbitration, nor has he refiled these claims.
10. Fishback also used false statements in his frivolous lawsuit as an improper opportunity to publicly misrepresent his role and performance at Greenlight by falsely claiming that he was “an outstanding performer at Greenlight,” “excelled in his work,” and “generated over $100 million in profits for Greenlight from the period of February 2021 to August 2023.”
11. None of this is true. In fact, Fishback was such a poor performer at Greenlight that Greenlight had actually decided to terminate him for his lack of productivity and scheduled a meeting with him to do so, but he abruptly resigned when he deduced that he was about to be terminated. And, since he had absolutely no authority or discretion whatsoever over Greenlight’s macro investment portfolio, he was not responsible for generating any profits, let alone “over $100 million” of profits.
12. Despite the fact that these statements are false, by making statements about Greenlight’s profitability (albeit using incorrect numbers and falsely attributing the profitability to himself), Fishback also publicly disclosed Greenlight Confidential Information.
13. Third, in furtherance of his attempt to harass and intimidate Greenlight, Fishback also simultaneously filed specious claims with the New York State Division of Human Rights against Greenlight alleging age discrimination (Fishback was in his late twenties during the relevant period) and religious discrimination based on his being Roman Catholic. These claims were all complete fabrications, and Fishback voluntarily dismissed them as well.
See the full case here.
