Two weeks ago, Raymond James filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan against Pietro “Peter” Melia, the Michigan-based husband of Sarah Melia, who was a Raymond James advisor for 13 years before her death in March 2025. The firm claimed he refused to return her company laptop and sent letters to clients soliciting them on behalf of another firm.
According to court documents, Melia has returned the laptop to Raymond James and filed an affidavit stating that he never accessed the laptop and that he turned it on because Raymond James’ counsel wanted proof that there was privileged or work product information on the machine.
Raymond James also filed a motion for expedited discovery, seeking a list of whom Melia contacted and the means by which he acquired those contacts. Melia then filed an opposition to the company’s motion, arguing that Raymond James has no evidence that he accessed the laptop and that he got the contacts by conferring with friends, family and acquaintances.
“These individuals liked Sarah very much and were willing to provide what contact information they had,” Melia’s opposition said.
“RJA should not be permitted to receive Peter’s confidential contact list where RJA merely speculates that the information came from Sarah’s laptop and where such a customer list would do nothing to establish whether the list derived from the laptop or from Peter’s contact with friends, family and acquaintances as well as online resources.”
On Wednesday, the court dismissed the motion for expedited discovery, citing the reasons in Melia’s affidavit.
A Raymond James spokesperson did not return a request for comment prior to publication.
“Raymond James has legitimate concerns that Mr. Melia accessed confidential company information, and the facts contradict his explanation that he got contact information from ‘family and friends,’” Raymond James’ motion said. “Several of the individuals he solicited had no relationship with Mrs. Melia, some were deceased, and others had never been Raymond James customers but were instead found in the business contact book of Mrs. Melia and Mr. Marchand,” her partner.
The original complaint claimed that Melia used the client contact information on the computer to solicit them on behalf of another advisory practice, Wealthcare Management Services, a Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based team affiliated with LPL Financial.
“Any agreement that Peter has with his new investment advisory firm to provide testimonials or endorsements will also do nothing to establish whether Peter’s contact list came from Sarah’s computer or his contacts with family, friends, acquaintances and online resources,” Melia’s opposition said.
In addition to requesting the court deny Raymond James’ request for early discovery, Melia also sought an order for the firm to produce the full results of a forensic analysis on the laptop and dismiss the brokerage’s claims as unsupported and/or moot.
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