The two firms agreed in December to bring in a third party to preserve evidence in the dispute pending a resolution by a FINRA arbitration panel. In October, Ameriprise won a temporary restraining order against a former advisor, Douglas Kenoyer, who was accused of inappropriately soliciting clients to LPL. And in June, a judge placed a restraining order on a pair of former Ameriprise brokers in Michigan accused of making off to LPL with confidential information "in the dark of night, after business hours, and on weekends." In the latest dispute, the brokers being sued said they decided to leave Ameriprise so shortly after joining because they found the firm "was not a good fit for them or their clients." Their and LPL's responses say industry standards like the broker protocol were, in fact, meant to ease advisors' transitions from one firm to another by decreasing the likelihood that lawsuits would be filed. The pact has worked for the most part, according to LPL. But not, LPL contends, with Amerprise.