No more throwing bricks

Former IPG chairman Frank Lowe, who came out of retirement in a highly publicized move to launch a new agency - taking several of IPG's top execs with him - has reached a settlement with IPG. In 2003 Lowe retired from IPG agency Lowe London, which he founded in 1981.

Lowe has dropped his suit, and IPG has withdrawn its claim, according to AdWeek (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Sources say the settlement does not involve an exchange of money. IPG filed a claim against Lowe a month after he returned to the business from retirement to open his own agency, The Red Brick Road. The new agency's first client was Tesco, which shifted its $80 million account out of IPG's Lowe.

IPG filed a claim with the American Arbitration Association, saying Lowe used proprietary information to "destabilize" his former agency. Lowe countersued in the Supreme Court of New York, claiming IPG defamed him via "false and injurious statements."

A top executive who worked on the Tesco account for Lowe, executive Paul Weinberger, left Lowe London to join Lowe at his new agency. Two others who worked on the Tesco account for Lowe London - senior copywriter Sam Cartmell and senior art director Jason Lawes - also resigned to join the new agency.