UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

PANAMA CITY DIVISION 

WESLEY ODOM, 

 

Plaintiff, 

v. Case No. 3:11-cv-00075-RS-MD 

MORGAN STANLEY SMITH BARNEY, LLC; 

and CITIGROUP INC., 

 Defendants. 

________________________________/ 

AMENDED COMPLAINT

 Plaintiff, Wesley Odom (“Odom”), pursuant to the Court’s 

Order dated July 22, 2011 (D.E. 40), submits this Amended 

Complaint against defendants, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC 

and Citigroup Inc.1

 1. Odom is an individual residing in Pensacola, Florida. 

Odom graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1988 and thereafter 

served in the United States Navy for 11 years (almost 4 years of 

active duty and 7 years in the reserves). 

 2. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC is a limited 

liability company and the successor in interest to Smith Barney 

Asset Management, LLC. 

 

1

 Counts III-VI of Mr. Odom’s original Complaint have been 

transferred for pretrial proceedings to the United States 

District Court for the Southern District of New York. In its 

July 22, 2011 Order, the Court required Mr. Odom to submit an 

amended pleading omitting the allegations relating to those 

counts in order to avoid confusion. By omitting the allegations 

relating to Counts III-VI from this document, Mr. Odom is in no 

way waiving, releasing, abandoning or otherwise foregoing his 

right to pursue those claims. 

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3. Citigroup Inc. is a Delaware corporation with its 

principal place of business in New York, New York. 

 4. This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

secs. 1331, 1332 and 1367. 

 5. From 1992 through 2009, Odom was employed by Smith 

Barney Asset Management, LLC (“Smith Barney”) or its successor 

corporations as a financial advisor. 

6. During Odom’s employment, Smith Barney was one of 

various affiliates of Citigroup Inc. (“Citi”) that sponsored and 

managed investment funds sold by Citi. At all pertinent times, 

Smith Barney was part of Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), a 

business unit of Citi that provides investment advisory and 

management services for Citi-sponsored funds. 

7. At all pertinent times, Citi owned 100% of Smith 

Barney’s membership interests and Smith Barney’s earnings were 

reported on Citi’s balance sheets and financial statements. 

8. At all pertinent times, Citi controlled Smith Barney 

through a unified and interlocking management structure. 

Specifically, Odom’s supervisor was Helene Botos. Ms. Botos, in 

turn, reported to Mike Marciniak, a Smith Barney Regional 

Director in Sarasota. Mr. Marciniak, in turn, reported to Kirby 

Kiblinski, a Smith Barney officer in Atlanta. Mr. Kiblinski, in 

turn, reported to Citi’s management and, ultimately, to Vikrim 

Pandit, Citi’s CEO in New York. 

9. Pursuant to the terms of his employment with Smith 

Barney, a large portion of Odom’s compensation was fee based. 

Smith Barney maintained a system whereby employees were paid a 

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specified percentage of the fees they generated, i.e., a 

commission. 

10. In or around 2008, Smith Barney began paying employees 

their commissions in arrears. This meant that, for example, 

Odom received the compensation he earned during the first 

quarter of the year (January through March) as part of his June 

paycheck. 

11. On May 4, 2009, Odom resigned from Morgan Stanley 

after being threatened with termination for objecting to and 

refusing to comply with company actions he believed to in 

violation of the federal securities laws. 

12. On information and belief, Morgan Stanley received 

fees from Mr. Odom’s clients during the first and second 

quarters of 2009 regarding which Mr. Odom was entitled to 

commissions. However, due to the policy of paying commissions 

in arrears, these commissions had not been paid to Odom as of 

his resignation on May 4, 2009. 

13. On information and belief, Smith Barney failed to pay 

Odom over $20,000.00 in commissions earned prior to his 

resignation on May 4, 2009. 

14. On May 28, 2008, Odom purchased foreign currency 

(Icelandic Koruna) at a price of $9,999.99, through his account 

with Citi. 

15. Subsequent to his separation from Smith Barney, Odom 

demanded access to the foreign currency so that he could obtain 

possession. 

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16. Odom has retained undersigned counsel to represent him 

in this matter and agreed to pay a reasonable attorneys’ fee. 

Count I: 

Action for Wages

 17. This is a claim by Odom against Smith Barney for 

unpaid wages. 

 18. Odom restates and incorporates by reference paragraphs 

1-16 as if fully set forth herein. 

 19. Smith Barney wrongfully deprived Odom of wages (in the 

form of commissions) which he earned and to which he is lawfully 

entitled. 

 20. Odom has been damaged as a result of Smith Barney’s 

failure to pay wages to which Odom is entitled. 

FOR RELIEF, plaintiff Wesley Odom respectfully requests the 

Court to enter judgment against Smith Barney, granting relief 

including, but not limited to: 

 A. an award of compensatory damages in an amount to be 

proven at trial for all losses caused by defendant’s misconduct; 

B. pursuant to Section 448.08, Fla. Stat., an award of 

the attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in prosecuting this 

claim; and 

C. such other relief as the Court deems just and 

equitable. 

Count II: 

Conversion

 21. This is a claim for conversion against Citi. 

 22. Odom restates and incorporates by reference paragraphs 

1-16 as if fully set forth herein. 

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 23. Citi has refused and/or is unable to provide Odom with 

access to or possession of the foreign currency he owns. 

 24. Since at least May 4, 2009, Odom has been wrongfully 

deprived by Citi of dominion and control over the foreign 

currency he owns, and also has been deprived of the benefits of 

said dominion and control, including but not limited to the 

ability to earn interest on the value of the currency. 

FOR RELIEF, plaintiff Wesley Odom respectfully requests the 

Court to enter judgment against Smith Barney, granting relief 

including, but not limited to: 

 A. an award of compensatory damages in an amount to be 

proven at trial for all losses caused by defendant’s misconduct; 

B. an award of the reasonable costs incurred in 

prosecuting this claim; and 

C. such other relief as the Court deems just and 

equitable. 

Jury Demand

 Plaintiff hereby demands trial by jury of all issues so 

triable. 

 

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Respectfully submitted, 

 AUSLEY & McMULLEN, P.A. 

 /s/Martin B. Sipple______ 

 Robert N. Clarke, Jr. 

 Fla. Bar No. 0592900 

 Martin B. Sipple 

 Fla. Bar No. 0135399 

 123 South Calhoun Street 

 P.O. Box 391 (zip 32302) 

 Tallahassee, Florida 32301 

 (850) 224-9115 – telephone 

 (850) 222-7560 – facsimile 

and 

KIEVIT, ODOM & BARLOW 

 Bradley S. Odom 

 Fla. Bar No. 932868 

 635 West Garden Street 

 Pensacola, Florida 32502 

 (850) 434-3527 – telephone 

 Attorneys for Plaintiff 

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

The undersigned certifies that a true and correct copy of 

the foregoing was served via the Court’s ECF system the 28th day 

of July, 2011, to: 

Elizabeth L. Bevington 

Holland & Knight LLP 

315 South Calhoun Street 

Suite 600 

Tallahassee, Florida 32301 

 /s/Martin B. Sipple_____ 

 Attorney 

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