otherwise facilitate such conduct.
Newman Aff. ¶ 15 and Exhibit A.
On April 10, 2003, approximately one week before Montgomery's resignation, Minnesota Life held a meeting in Bismarck, North Dakota concerning an expansion of their business operations into North Dakota. All of Prudential's 17 agents in North Dakota were invited to the meeting. Several of Prudential's agents in North Dakota attended the meeting. Newman Aff. ¶ ¶ 13, 14.
On April 14, 2003, Montgomery entered into a "Statutory Agent Agreement" which includes a restrictive covenant virtually identical to Section 7 of the Manager Agreement. Newman Aff. ¶ 16 and Exhibit B. Each of these agreements contained virtually identical covenants which prohibited Montgomery from "inducing, attempting to induce, or facilitating the termination of the relationship between Prudential and any of its associates."
OnApril 18, 2003, four days after entering into the "Statutory Agent Agreement", Montgomery resigned from Prudential and entered into an employment arrangement with Minnesota Life.
It is alleged that notwithstanding the restrictive covenants agreed to by Montgomery, he solicited Prudential's personnel to join him at Minnesota Life. See Newman Aff. ¶ ¶ 15, 16. Since Montgomery's resignation, three Prudential agents or employees have resigned from Prudential to commence employment at Minnesota Life. See Newman Aff. ¶ ¶ 18-19. Prudential argues that it only seeks to maintain the status quo until such time as an arbitration panel convened by NASD Dispute Resolution, Inc. can issue a decision on the merits.
As previously noted, Montgomery resigned from Prudential on April 18, 2003, and went to work for Minnesota Life. Three of Prudential's