CBRE Sues To Prevent Former Exec From Working At Cushman & Wakefield
CBRE is taking a former executive to court after he joined one of the company's largest competitors.
On Dec. 6, Chris Hipps resigned from his role as senior managing director of advisory and transaction services at CBRE in Dallas after over a decade. The following day, Cushman & Wakefield announced Hipps would join the firm as Texas managing principal on Jan. 2.
CBRE filed suit in December, claiming he breached his employment contract by joining a major competitor, D Magazine first reported.
The litigation stopped Hipps from starting in the new role, as CBRE was granted a temporary injunction. The court stated the company will likely "succeed on the merits of its claim," having adequately shown its evidence for breach of contract. The injunction found Hipps' previous and new roles to be largely the same, making it likely for him to use confidential CBRE information at Cushman.
The injunction states that Hipps communicated with CBRE clients to foster business relationships on behalf of Cushman, solicited CBRE clients to end or scale back their relationship with the company, and/or "recruited, solicited, or induced" a CBRE employee to change their employment status at the company.
CBRE aims to prevent Hipps from directly or indirectly working at Cushman until January 2025, according to the injunction.
Until then, Hipps would continue at Cushman in a "garden leave" position. This means Hipps would be unable to perform any work for the company until the notice period is up, but his salary and benefits would remain unaffected.
The company is also looking to prevent Hipps from directly or indirectly working at any other competitor until Dec. 6, 2025, 24 months after his original resignation date. CBRE is asking for relief of up to $1M.
A hearing is set for Jan. 6, 2025.
Hipps has filed an appeal to the injunction with support from his new employer, a Cushman spokesperson told Bisnow.
"Regardless of the outcome of his appeal, Mr. Hipps will be free to work at Cushman & Wakefield, anywhere and in any capacity, in less than nine months. Cushman & Wakefield fully supports Mr. Hipps, and we look forward to him joining our team as soon as possible," the spokesperson said.
CBRE declined to comment.
CBRE has had its share of leadership changes lately. One of its newest Boston additions, Michael Joyce, left Cushman after six years to rejoin the company. Last month, it appointed Guy Metcalfe to its board of directors. Metcalfe spent 30 years with Morgan Stanley and was the former director and global chairman of the bank's real estate investment banking group.
Cushman recently promoted Aubrey Waddell to be the new CEO of its Global Occupier Services division after serving at the company since 2021.
CORRECTION, MARCH 14, 12:30 P.M. ET: This story has been updated to clarify Hipps' "garden leave" is at Cushman and correct his resignation date.
