A father-and-son team that left Merrill Lynch for Raymond James Financial in San Diego have dropped a lawsuit that they had filed in January in attempt to head off a potential client solicitation battle with a pre-emptive strike against their former employer.

Michael Bradshaw and his son, Philip, sought a voluntary dismissal of their case on March 23, according to court records. Their lawyer, Edwin Shustak at Shustak Reynolds & Partners in San Diego, said that they dropped their case after it appeared Merrill did not plan to file a temporary restraining order.

“We were mostly focused on Merrill trying to interfere with our clients’ movement of their customers from Merrill to the firm they are with now,” Shustak said. “But Merrill didn’t want any injunctive relief, so there is no reason to keep the federal case.”

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