Broker-Dealer Litigation - Greenberg Traurig LLP

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enforceability of the arbitration agreement. The broker knowingly and voluntarily waived her rights to a jury trial by signing the agreement because the arbitration clause in the agreement was unambiguous, and it clearly specified that the broker’s discrimination claims were arbitrable matters. The court also dismissed the broker’s argument that the arbitration clause was unconscionable. The contract was not procedurally unconscionable in light of the broker’s educational and professional background and the broker’s failure to provide evidence that she was precluded from carefully reviewing the contract or negotiating its terms. The contract was not substantively unconscionable because the contract was not one-sided; both parties were required to arbitrate disputes under the arbitration clause. The district court also noted that the contract was not substantively unconscionable because the arbitral panel could award any relief available in a court of law. As a result, the district court compelled arbitration of the broker’s claims, including claims against the broker’s coworkers, who were not subject to the employment agreement. Even though the broker’s coworkers were not signatories, they were employees of one of the parties to the contract. As a result, the court decided that the broker’s employment contract fairly required her to arbitrate those claims as well. Walker v. Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, 2011 WL 1603490 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 28, 2011). A broker-dealer terminated an investment counselor’s employment. The investment counselor sued his former employer in state court, alleging that the broker-dealer had denied him the opportunity to gather his personal belongings before escorting him out of the office. The employer removed the case to federal court and filed a motion to compel arbitration. The arbitration agreement required the investment counselor to arbitrate “any controversy or claim arising out of or in any way relating to Employee’s employment … or termination thereof.” The investment counselor opposed the motion, arguing that the relief he sought was outside the scope of the arbitration clause. Specifically, he argued that his claims concern his personal property and, as such, the claims do not relate to his employment. Based on its review of the complaint, the court held that the claims fell within the scope of the arbitration agreement, which it noted was “particularly broad.” The investment counselor’s complaint alleged that his personal belongings included employment-related materials. For example, he sought return of his personal computer, which contained a database of prospective clients. The court decided that these claims fell squarely within the scope of the arbitration agreement and granted the brokerdealer’s motion to compel arbitration. Alvarado v. Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, 2011 WL 677354 (S.D. Tex. Feb. 15, 2011) After a financial advisor was terminated from her employment with a brokerage firm, she and the firm had a dispute regarding commissions and payment on a promissory note the financial advisor signed during her employment. The parties arbitrated their dispute and the arbitral panel issued an award in favor of the brokerage firm. The financial advisor moved to vacate the arbitration award on the basis that the award was ambiguous. First, she argued that the arbitration award did not specifically address one of her defenses, and, as such, the panel R. R. 454
must not have ruled on that defense. The court dismissed this argument because the award’s broad language suggested that the panel considered all defenses and rejected them in awarding damages to the brokerage firm, especially since the defense was discussed during the proceedings. Second, the financial advisor argued that the arbitration award was ambiguous because it did not state whether her previous payments should be applied to the firm’s damages award. The court dismissed this argument based on the terms of the arbitral award. The award stated that the financial advisor “shall pay” the damages to the firm, which mean that the arbitrators intended the award to be paid in the future. Also, the court noted that the damages award was less than the difference between the sum sought by the firm and the sums the financial advisor had already paid, so the arbitrators could have easily subtracted the previously paid amount from the award in favor of the firm. As a result, the court concluded that the arbitral award was final and definite because it resolved all the disputed issues. The court confirmed the arbitral award and denied the financial advisor’s motion to vacate. In re QA3 Fin. Corp., 2011 WL 2678591 (Bankr. D. Neb. July 7, 2011) Former clients of a broker-dealer filed arbitration claims against the broker-dealer and its employees. After the broker-dealer filed for bankruptcy, it sought to have its automatic stay extended to its employees in certain claims. The court granted the extension of the automatic stay because a judgment against the employees would effectively be a judgment against the debtor, the broker-dealer. The court refused to extend the automatic stay to the employees on claims against them personally because those claims would not extend to the debtor. Shaffer v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., 779 F. Supp.2d 1085 (N.D. Cal. 2011). A financial advisor moved to confirm an arbitration award entered in his favor and against his former employer. The former employer, a broker-dealer, sought to vacate the award because the arbitrator had hired two research attorneys for assistance in deciding the case. The court determined that the arbitrator not acted improperly and confirmed the award. Specifically, the court found that hiring the research attorneys did not constitute arbitrator misconduct because state statutory law did not require the arbitrator to disclose its legal research sources nor the use of non-expert attorneys. Further, the broker-dealer had not shown any evidence that the research attorneys had any conflicts of interest or were otherwise biased. The arbitrator gave the brokerdealer the benefit of its contractual bargain by making an independent decision and obeying the relevant statutes and standards. The court noted that even if the broker-dealer established arbitrator misconduct, it waived its right to object on that ground by waiting to raise the issue until after the arbitrator issued its final decision, months after learning about the research attorneys. The court confirmed the arbitration award in favor of the financial advisor and corrected a miscalculation in the total sum. The court denied the employer’s motion to vacate. R. R. 455
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Broker-Dealer Litigation 2011 Annua
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Rocky Pozza Miller, Canfield, Paddo
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3. Safe Harbor/Bespeaks Caution Def
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(iii) Falsification of Documents...
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SECURITIES LITIGATION A. Definition
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Purvis v. Arizona Corp. Comm’n, N
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allegation of fraud. The complaint
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Silverstrand Investments v. AMAG Ph
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complaint lacked named plaintiffs w
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egarding loan-to-value ratios repor
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appraisers’ alleged acceptance of
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that statutes of repose are not sus
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Pension Trust Fund for Operating En
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Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Th
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authorities versus those reported i
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In re Oppenheimer Rochester Funds G
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claims as to the appraisal standard
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under Section 12 and declined to ex
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however, the court found that the s
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that a mutual fund’s share price
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allege a material misrepresentation
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over common questions, given the nu
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lending practices; and its solvenci
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partnership and worked to obtain in
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Section 12(a)(2) required the court
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initially inflated the company’s
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B.2 Self v. Chase Bank, N.A., 2011
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“associated with,” or “acted
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Gibbons v. Nat’l Real Estate Inve
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avoid ambiguous, potentially mislea
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B.3 SEC v. Kelly, 2011 WL 44331161
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B.3 SEC v. Woodruff, 778 F. Supp. 2
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C. Liabilities under the Securities
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easonable juror could conclude that
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Claimants requested compensatory da
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C.1.d Ashland Inc. v. Morgan Stanle
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C.1.d AnchorBank, FSB v. Hofer, 649
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experiencing large operating losses
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C.1.d Resnik v. Woertz, 744 F. Supp
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substantial likelihood that disclos
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C.1.d In re Evergreen Ultra Short O
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In re Merrill Lynch Auction Rate Se
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fiduciary duty and negligent misrep
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corporation’s earnings forecasts
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C.1.e In re Bank of America Corp. S
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f. Affirmative Defenses Wilson v. M
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that the complaint failed to allege
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immaterial; or (3) made without act
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of the Private Securities Litigatio
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held that the statute of limitation
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C.1.f In re Novatel Wireless Securi
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parent company liable for statement
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C.1.g SEC v. Tecumseh Holdings Corp
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C.1.g Fishman v. Morgan Keegan & Co
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C.2 Litwin v. Oceanfreight, Inc., 2
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Hysong v. Encore Energy Partners LP
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and created an uncertainty that KBR
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consented to the entry of a final j
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3. Section 15(c) C.3 SEC v. Ficeto,
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SEC v. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc.
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settled with the SEC prior to the c
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equity interests in real estate ass
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noted that the SEC had “merely re
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ing such court actions (the “1990
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D. Liabilities under the Securities
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its’ liquidity problems and plans
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few of defendant’s employees were
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D.1 Dronsejko v. Thornton, 632 F.3d
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In re Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.
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particularized as materially mislea
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D.1 Stephenson v. Pricewaterhouseco
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D.1 Russo v. Bruce, 777 F. Supp. 2d
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D.1 Jacquemyns v. Spartan Mullen Et
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granted the defendants’ motion to
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D.1 Egan v. Tradingscreen, Inc., 20
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City of Roseville Employees’ Reti
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D.1 Solow v. Citigroup, Inc., 2011
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Local 731 I.B. of T. Excavators and
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D.1 Love v. Alfacell Corp., 2011 WL
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disregarded and resulted in omissio
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dismiss finding that plaintiff’s
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from a decline of defendant’s sto
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plaintiffs failed to (i) create str
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D.1 In re St. Jude Med., Inc. Sec.
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D.1 Scala v. Citicorp Inc., 2011 WL
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granted defendants’ motion to dis
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improperly recognized revenue on sa
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D.1 Henning v. Orient Paper, Inc.,
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plaintiffs alleged that defendants
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in various contracts of the company
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D.1 In re Crocs, Inc. Securities Li
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Phila. Fin. Mgmt. of S.F., LLC v. D
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Waterford Twp. Police & Fire Ret. S
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Group met the requirements of Fed.
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appointed a lead plaintiff. The cou
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IBEW Local 90 Pension Fund v. Deuts
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D.2 Vandevelde v. China Natural Gas
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typicality.” Accordingly, the cou
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D.2 Sparano v. Lief, 2011 WL 830109
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argument was irrelevant because the
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issue, and therefore qualified for
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was not available. Moreover, the co
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misstatements were shielded from li
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D.3 Hopson v. MetroPCS Commc’ns,
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D.3 In re St. Jude Med., Inc. Sec.
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D.3 Curry v. Hansen Med., Inc., 201
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D.3 In re Coinstar Sec. Litig., 201
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Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Unio
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E. Backus v. Conn. Cmty. Bank, N.A.
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Securities Litigation Uniform Stand
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willfully ignored numerous red flag
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material facts “relating to” th
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E. Northstar Fin. Advisors, Inc. v.
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precluded or removable under SLUSA.
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circumvent SLUSA, the Court of Appe
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of defendant purchased ARS bonds fr
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2. Consumer Protection and Other St
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F.3 Borsellino v. Putnam, 2011 WL 6
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F.4 Haase v. GunnAllen Fin., Inc.,
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that the complaint failed to allege
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eing directed to return improperly
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H.1 U.S. v. Reyes, 660 F.3d 454 (9t
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to dismiss the complaint pursuant t
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Act of 1934 alleging it made false
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and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Ex
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exert control over the content of c
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H.2 In re Sanofi-Aventis Sec. Litig
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Camofi Master LDC v. Riptide Worldw
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solvency. The district court held t
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(1) the investment corporations’
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held that, in taking plaintiffs’
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Rule 10b-5 claims were pleaded with
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to judgment as a matter of law beca
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H.2 Rafton v. Rydex Series Funds, 2
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those reasons, the court granted th
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Genesee County Employees Ret. Sys.
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Fernea v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fe
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3. Aiding & Abetting H.3 Janus Capi
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of trades by defendants did not amo
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violation of securities laws. To st
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H.3 Merkin v. Gabriel Capital, L.P.
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allegedly illegal fundraising at de
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to any of the claims except the “
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mere suspicion that the broker-deal
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H.4 U.S. v. Speer, 419 F. App’x 5
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equirements of Federal Rule of Civi
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compliance officer testified as a r
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In re Torrey Pines Sec. Inc., Relea
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In re Torrey Pines Sec. Inc., Relea
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or nationally-recognized statistica
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activity, including activity in the
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timely and complete information upd
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J. RICO J. MLSMK Inv. Co. v. JP Mor
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J. In re Refco Inc. Sec. Litig., 20
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Beaman v. Barth, 2011 Bankr. LEXIS
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General Retirement System of City o
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K. Damages and Other Relief in Priv
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K.2 U.S. v. Gushlak, 2011 WL 315917
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K.2 Elipas v. Jedynak, 2011 WL 1706
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are wanton and reckless when done i
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settlement agreement constituted an
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The court held that the trustee was
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L. Contribution, Indemnification L.
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L. MBIA Ins. Corp. v. Credit Suisse
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warranted under these circumstances
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1933. In opposition to the motions,
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M.1 SEC v. Wyly, 788 F. Supp. 2d 92
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as barred by the statute of repose
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equitable estoppel did not apply as
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support the FINRA arbitration as pr
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N.1 Citibank, N.A. v. Franco, 2011
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ecause it overlapped with and was p
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2. Eligibility/Limitations N.2 Yuan
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the legislature did not intend the
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Plaintiff in fact derived a direct
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arbitrator the right to determine w
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and ordering of all parties into ar
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impeachment upon proof of changed c
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N.4.c Aviles v. Charles Schwab & Co
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S.Ct. 1784 (2010). Prior to Merck,
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market sector downturn rendered the
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defendants had misrepresented the n
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allegations did not reference parti
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were disclosed by the timely filing
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improper attempt to file the Third
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O.3 In re Evergreen Ultra Short Opp
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would primarily focus on establishi
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the power of a sovereign.” It was
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the admission by the investment man
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permit exercise of personal jurisdi
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anyway because the connection to ba
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5. Discovery O.5 Mori v. Saito, 802
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O.5 Davis v. Duncan Energy Partners
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censure, a civil money penalty of $
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anch office, which did not have any
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In re Application of Kaminski, Admi
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prejudgment interest. The payment w
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Specifically, the firm’s procedur
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In re Pagliarini, Admin. Proc.File
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firm settled charges that it violat
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capacities. The NAC cited the fact
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maintain and enforce a system of su
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The hearing panel found respondents
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firm also consented to findings tha
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In re Keybanc Capital Markets, Inc.
Page 411 and 412: $30,000 civil fine, disgorgement of
Page 413 and 414: The Commission’s complaint allege
Page 415 and 416: Commission, a federal district cour
Page 417 and 418: (ii) Misrepresentation Q.1.c.(ii) I
Page 419 and 420: Q.1.c(ii) In re Chiaese, Release No
Page 421 and 422: The Commission censured the Firm. A
Page 423 and 424: particular, CSIM and CS&Co. markete
Page 425 and 426: Q.1.e.(i) SEC v. Devlin, Litig. Rel
Page 427 and 428: clearance trades without being a re
Page 429 and 430: Q.1.e(ii) In re Huntleigh Sec. Corp
Page 431 and 432: assisted in the Firm’s creation o
Page 433 and 434: Q.1.e(iii) In re Schaefer, Release
Page 435 and 436: and hedge fund accounts, to the det
Page 437 and 438: f. Failure to Supervise Q.1.f In re
Page 439 and 440: Firm policy disallowing wires from
Page 441 and 442: The Commission alleged that Lopez-T
Page 443 and 444: suspension concerning his complianc
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Page 447 and 448: Direct Edge ECN LLC, doing business
Page 449 and 450: (ii) Falsification of Documents . N
Page 451 and 452: unavailable, Gizankis and FINRA agr
Page 453 and 454: j. Procedural Issues (i) Evidence N
Page 455 and 456: FINRA Rule 2010 by submitting an an
Page 457 and 458: R. Broker-Dealer Employment Litigat
Page 459 and 460: discovery responses was also meritl
Page 461: R. Frankel v. McDonough, 2011 WL 50
Page 465 and 466: FINRA award was entitled to full fa
Page 467 and 468: Lorbietzki v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce
Page 469 and 470: failed to show that it was prejudic
Page 471 and 472: Antelis v. Freeman, 2011 WL 6009609
Page 473 and 474: Berman v. Morgan Keegan & Co., 2011
Page 475 and 476: Citigroup Smith Barney v. Henderson
Page 477 and 478: Department of Enforcement v. Hedge
Page 479 and 480: FINRA Department of Enforcement v.
Page 481 and 482: Grecco v. Local.Com Corp., 806 F. S
Page 483 and 484: IAC/InterActiveCorp v. O’Brien, 2
Page 485 and 486: In re Cell Therapeutics, Inc. Class
Page 487 and 488: In re Franklin Bank Corp. Sec. Liti
Page 489 and 490: In re Kim, Release No. 64862, 2011
Page 491 and 492: In re Mutascio, Release No. 65351,
Page 493 and 494: In re Shankar, Release No. 64714, 2
Page 495 and 496: In re Wash. Mut. Mortgage-Backed Se
Page 497 and 498: KeyBank, N.A. v. Bingo, Coast Guard
Page 499 and 500: Marini v. Adamo, 2011 WL 4442710 (E
Page 501 and 502: McCafferty v. A.G. Edwards & Sons,
Page 503 and 504: Murray v. Citigroup Global Mkts., I
Page 505 and 506: Picard v. Madoff (In re Bernard L.
Page 507 and 508: Rafton v. Rydex Series Funds, 2011
Page 509 and 510: SEC v. Aragon Capital Advisors, LLC
Page 511 and 512: SEC v. N. Am. Clearing, Inc., Litig
Page 513 and 514:
Solow v. Citigroup, Inc. , 2011 WL
Page 515 and 516:
U.S. Bank N.A. v. Cold Spring Grani
Page 517:
West Va. Laborers Trust Fund v. STE
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