William Nieporte says he was forced out of the $8 billion asset manager he co-founded for breaching a return-to-office policy he himself signed off on, in a rare legal dispute now playing out on two separate fronts.
The co-founder of an asset management firm now worth more than $8 billion has launched legal action claiming he was pushed out of the business for failing to comply with a return-to-office policy that he helped put in place. William Nieporte, 57, ran Bramshill Investments for nearly a decade alongside his high school friends Art DeGaetano and Stephen Selver before being fired in 2022. According to a termination letter obtained by the Wall Street Journal, the pair claimed Nieporte had “willfully and deliberately failed to report to in-person work” — a mandate the three men had introduced together just months earlier.
A Rare Twist on the Return-to-Office Battle
Disputes over return-to-office mandates have overwhelmingly involved rank-and-file staff rather than senior executives, according to the Wall Street Journal, making the Bramshill case notable within the wider debate over post-pandemic workplace policy. Nieporte’s lawsuit, filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in May 2026 and reported by PacerMonitor, centres on the claim that a company co-founder and senior executive was dismissed over a policy he himself had helped introduce — a situation legal observers describe as exceptionally rare.
From Startup to $8 Billion
Nieporte and DeGaetano founded Bramshill Investments in 2012. Selver joined the board two years later as chief executive, taking a 40 per cent stake, while DeGaetano served as chief investment officer with a 48 per cent stake. Nieporte, who held the remaining 12 per cent as chief operating officer and chief compliance officer, relocated from New Jersey to San Ramon, California, in 2017 with his partners’ blessing. The firm grew rapidly during the pandemic, expanding from around $3 billion under management to more than $4.5 billion by 2022. According to court filings cited by PacerMonitor, Bramshill now manages more than $8 billion in assets — underlining how significantly the business has grown since Nieporte’s departure.
The Divorce Clause
Tensions first flared in 2021, when DeGaetano and Selver attempted to invoke a so-called “Divorce Clause” in the operating agreement of Bramshill’s parent company, Ironmen, after Nieporte’s wife began divorce proceedings against him. The clause would have allowed his partners to strip his voting rights and force a buyout of his stake. Nieporte received a letter dated 26 April 2021 informing him that his membership interests had “been automatically converted into non-voting Membership Interests” and that his board status had been suspended. His lawyers argue that the mere filing of divorce proceedings does not trigger the clause, and that his wife never obtained legal title to any of his interests.
The Return-to-Office Mandate
The following year, the three partners jointly ordered all “at-will” employees back into one of the firm’s offices in New York City, Naples, Florida, or Newport Beach, California, five days a week, with a deadline of 5 July. About half of staff were granted additional flexibility. The memo, signed by all three men, stated: “You are all employees at will and can choose to abide by this mandate in the terms laid out above or not. If you choose to not abide by the mandate, we will be offering severance packages.”
Nieporte maintains the policy was never meant to apply to him as a co-owner rather than an at-will employee, and that neither DeGaetano nor Selver suggested otherwise when the policy was adopted. DeGaetano nonetheless pushed for Nieporte to relocate from the Bay Area to southern California, and after the deadline passed wrote to him: “We have both junior and senior employees commuting over one hour each way to work, and yet you feel this policy doesn’t apply to you.” Nieporte was given 30 days to comply, though his filings claim the notice was never properly delivered. Discussions over a possible buyout followed, and DeGaetano allegedly assured him that “all pending actions on either side will be put on hold” — only for Nieporte to be fired within days of that meeting.
ADP’s Role Disputed
Central to Nieporte’s case is the involvement of ADP Total Source, the human resources firm that processed his termination. His lawsuit alleges that ADP “supplied the corporate apparatus and the official termination notice that Art and Stephen needed to make their sham termination of Bill appear legitimate,” and that without its participation, DeGaetano and Selver “could not have affected the sham termination of Bill through ADP’s payroll and human resources system.”
ADP spokeswoman Allyce Hackmann told the Wall Street Journal the company would defend itself against the allegations and is in compliance with applicable laws, explaining that once a client enters a separation decision into its system, an automated termination letter is generated — meaning ADP does not itself make termination decisions on clients’ behalf.
Two Fronts, One Dispute
Beyond the federal lawsuit against ADP, Nieporte is also pursuing separate arbitration proceedings against Bramshill, Ironmen and his former partners over his ownership stake and dismissal, according to the Wall Street Journal — meaning the dispute is now being fought simultaneously in court and through arbitration.
Bramshill’s Response
A representative for Bramshill said Nieporte’s claims were built on fabricated accusations and that the firm expects the legal process to affirm that neither it nor its co-owners engaged in any wrongdoing. The company maintains Nieporte was dismissed for “dereliction of duty” rather than simply for declining to return to the office, and says he is not entitled to the compensation or ownership value he is seeking. His attorney, Matthew J. Press of Press Karol LLP, has countered that the only duty Bramshill has pointed to is his failure to return to the office, and argues such a policy does not amount to valid grounds for termination under the company’s operating agreement.
What Nieporte Is Seeking
Nieporte, now working remotely for a start-up from his home in Nevada, is seeking at least $30 million in lost earnings, profits and the value of his 12 per cent stake in the company. He is also seeking reinstatement as Bramshill’s chief compliance officer, arguing his removal as both owner and executive breached the firm’s operating agreements.
Employment law observers say the case raises broader questions about whether founders and equity partners can be treated as “at-will” employees under internal workplace policies, particularly where limited liability company operating agreements grant them separate contractual rights — an issue the Wall Street Journal notes could have implications for how return-to-office mandates interact with ownership stakes in closely held companies more widely.
