Brokerage D’Aprile suing former employee, alleging agent poaching

When Peter Moulton joined Fulton Grace Realty in August to help develop its agent talent after nearly four years working for competing Chicago brokerage D’Aprile Properties, he said he wanted to “continue great energy that I’ve already felt within this company.”

D’Aprile, however, claims in a newly filed lawsuit that Moulton tried to infuse the energy with that of his former colleagues from his previous position, breaching a non-solicitation agreement he signed while with the firm in the process.

D’Aprile is suing Moulton, its former vice president of agent training and development, alleging he has “aggressively recruited” agents to Fulton Grace, in a complaint filed in Cook County court on Jan. 23.

The brokerage that filed the suit, which was acquired by Coldwell Banker Realty Group late last year, sent a cease and desist letter to Moulton on Dec. 23, saying the company had evidence that Moulton had violated the non-solicitation agreement, and had targeted four D’Aprile agents in particular. The lawsuit shows they include Adam Zagata, Matt Johnson, Mark Placek and Pamela Urbanowicz, all of whom appear to have stayed with D’Aprile. 

Moulton declined to comment. Ryan D’Aprile, CEO and founder of D’Aprile Properties, did not respond to a request for comment. Moulton has worked in residential real estate for 25 years, and previous to his nearly four-year stint with D’Aprile, held leadership positions at both Dream Town Realty and @properties, and was a managing broker earlier in his career at Coldwell Banker Real Estate, according to a LinkedIn profile.

The suit also alleges that some D’Aprile agents left for Fulton Grace, but doesn’t specify how many or who they are. However, the lawsuit was filed weeks after 18 agents from D’Aprile left to join Fulton Grace in a newly established office in suburban Gurnee. The office will be led by Alex Attiah, a former D’Aprile agent, and is set to open in March, according to a Chicago Agent Magazine report on the career moves. Attiah had a total sales volume of $15 million in 2022, while the entire group’s totaled about $50 million, according to the January report.

D’Aprile is seeking $50,000 in damages as well as attorney’s fees. The suit also alleges that Moulton is intentionally diverting money earned by previous D’Aprile agents that joined Fulton Grace, in an alleged attempt to limit damages that D’Aprile is seeking. 

This isn’t D’Aprile’s first involvement in litigation in recent months, though this time it’s in the position of plaintiff rather than defendant.

On the heels of its acquisition by Coldwell Banker, the Chicago-based residential brokerage settled a lawsuit with Texas-based marketing company XpressDocs, after the firm claimed the brokerage had refused to pay $317,000-worth of bills for its work that racked up since September 2021. Brokerage founder D’Aprile last month said the parties settled the case but did not disclose terms of the settlement. 

Coldwell Banker Realty Group said in a statement that the lawsuit against Moulton precedes its acquisition of D’Aprile.

“This is not a matter that Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group is involved with or pursuing,” the company said. “The attorney involved does not represent Coldwell Banker Real Estate Group and we have no further comment on ongoing legal matters.”