Former Employee Sues Garrison Financial Corp.

Garrison Financial Corp. of Fayetteville — the parent company to Garrison Financial Advisors Inc. and Garrison Asset Management, which purchased Garner Asset Management this past spring — has already found itself in a lawsuit.

Brian Vaughn, the firm’s president and chief financial officer, was dismissed in June. Vaughn has since filed a lawsuit in Washington County Circuit Court claiming the company breached his employment contract and that he is still a shareholder in Fieldstone Enterprises Inc. and Olympia Holdings LLC, two sister companies.

The suit seeks one year’s severance pay ($324,000), attorneys’ fees, interest and “judicially supervised dissolution” of GFC, Fieldstone and Olympia, or at least that the companies repurchase Vaughn’s shares.

Among other things in the counterclaim filed Sept. 12, the defendant (all the above mentioned Garrison companies) said Vaughn misrepresented himself to the companies to gain employment, that he attempted to use $500,000 of the company’s funds to fulfill his obligations to his previous employer, and that Vaughn acquired his shares of Fieldstone and Olympia for less than $1,000, but he claims those shares are worth $270,000.

The group of Garrison companies asks for unspecified punitive damages, compensation of reasonable fees, interest and that the sale of Vaughn’s shares be rescinded and parties returned to status quo.

Garrison Financial Corp. is chaired by Thomas Garrison, former CEO of Fed Ex Freight East of Harrison.

According to February figures from the SEC, GFA manages $44.4 million in assets for clients, and GAM manages $173.1 million.

Vaughn has since moved to Ouachita Parish, La.