Hightower Suit Against Ex-Worker Who Jumped to Rival Can Advance

Hightower Holding LLC can move ahead with a claim that an ex-employee defamed the company to its clients when the worker left for a competing financial firm, a federal court ruled.

Judge Manish S. Shah , of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, on Thursday partly denied ex-Hightower employee Faiza Kedir’s motion to dismiss the firm’s claims that she defamed the company.

Shah also granted Hightower’s request for a preliminary injunction barring Kedir from using an alleged Hightower trade secret—a chart containing Hightower investment models.

“Hightower faces the loss of its competitive edge and the loss ...