Advisors’ Dispute Leads to Lawsuit

A private spat between two of Orange County’s best-known investment advisors turned public when Byron Roth, chairman of Newport Beach-based Cruttenden Roth, accused his partner and former boss, Walter Cruttenden III, of stealing clients and employees for a new Internet venture. In a lawsuit filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, Cruttenden Roth and Irvine-based Fidelity National Financial--which owns an 18% stake in the investment banking firm--accused Cruttenden of fraud, breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duty. Cruttenden, who resigned as chairman of Cruttenden Roth last fall but retains about a 13% stake, declined to comment. But a spokesman denied all of the suit’s allegations. The suit charges that Cruttenden laid the plans for his Internet-based underwriting firm, E-Offering, while he was still chairman of Cruttenden Roth, even though E-Offering would compete with Cruttenden Roth for business. Both firms specialize in helping small technology companies raise cash through stock offerings.