California co-founder of $8 billion asset management firm fired for skipping his own return-to-office rule, now seeks $30 million

A co-founder of a California-based $8 billion asset management firm has sued after he was fired for allegedly failing to comply with the company's own return-to-office policy, seeking at least $30 million in damages.

William Nieporte, a co-founder and former chief compliance officer of Bramshill Investments, claims he was wrongfully terminated in 2022 after not returning to the firm's Southern California office under a five-day-a-week in-person work policy. According to The Wall Street Journal, he alleges the policy was used as a pretext to remove him from the business and strip him of his ownership stake.

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Co-founder fired over return-to-office policy

Bramshill Investments, which manages about $8 billion in assets, was founded by William Nieporte along with his high school classmates Stephen Selver and Art DeGaetano.

In 2022, as businesses across the US brought employees back to the workplace following the COVID-19 pandemic, the three co-founders issued an email directing staff to return to one of the firm's three offices five days a week by July or face termination.

According to the report, Nieporte later received a termination letter from Selver and DeGaetano stating that he had "willfully and deliberately failed to report to 'in-person' work."

Why William Nieporte challenged his dismissal

Nieporte filed a lawsuit in May against Bramshill's human resources company, arguing that the return-to-office policy did not apply to him as a co-owner of the business.

The lawsuit says Nieporte owned a 12% stake in Bramshill and claims the office attendance requirement applied only to employees, not company ownership. The filing states that he therefore "appropriately ignored the email."

His attorney, Matthew Press, has argued that the return-to-office policy was not a valid legal basis to terminate a company co-founder.

Lawsuit says move to Northern California was approved

At the time of the dispute, Nieporte was living in San Ramon, California, several hundred miles from Bramshill's closest office in Newport Beach.

According to the lawsuit, he moved there in 2017 with the approval of his fellow co-founders.

The filing further alleges that Selver and DeGaetano later tried to force him out of the company and offered to buy his ownership stake in 2021, before introducing the return-to-office policy the following year.

'You feel this policy doesn't apply to you'

After the July 2022 deadline passed, Art DeGaetano allegedly sent Nieporte a warning reminding him that the office mandate applied to everyone.

"We have both junior and senior employees commuting over one hour each way to work, and yet you feel this policy doesn't apply to you."

According to the lawsuit, DeGaetano gave Nieporte 30 days to return to in-person work.

Nieporte, however, contends that the notice was invalid because company rules required it to be delivered by hand, fax or mail, rather than electronically. The lawsuit says he reopened buyout discussions but was terminated before the 30-day period ended.

Bramshill denies allegations

Bramshill has denied Nieporte's claims.

A company spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that Nieporte was fabricating the allegations and said the legal process would show that the remaining co-founders had done nothing wrong.

William Nieporte seeks $30 million

In the lawsuit, Nieporte is seeking at least $30 million, including alleged lost earnings, future profits and the value of his 12% ownership stake in Bramshill Investments.

The case will now proceed through the courts.

Where is William Nieporte now?

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nieporte now works remotely for a Nevada-based startup after leaving Bramshill Investments. The lawsuit is expected to determine whether his dismissal was lawful and whether the firm's return-to-office policy could be enforced against one of its own co-founders.