Over the last thirty years, we have represented many clients, including many pension plans, trusts, and individual clients, individual investors from all walks of life, and of greatly varying degrees of wealth, business acumen, post secondary education, investment sophistication, in a variety of claims against securities broker-dealers, stockbrokers and other investment professionals relating to the sale of defective investments products or the provision of negligent if not fraudulent investment advice.
That it is all we do.
Many of our clients are just people. People with little or no investment sophistication who sometimes obtain large sums of money from lump sum retirement plans, lawsuits, inheritance, the death of a spouse, injury, divorce, disability, and on more than one occasion, lottery winners.
All investors are entitled to the truth and the right to rely upon the integrity of the investment advice provided to them by their investment professionals. However, because many of these individuals lack investment experience, these individuals often fall victim to stockbroker fraud or misconduct.
Every case is different. The facts and circumstances in each securities related claim are generally different. Every case involves different individuals, different circumstances, different lawyers, and probably most importantly, different Panels, Judges, or Arbitrators.
Litigation involves risk and the outcome of any arbitration is arbitrary.
While there is no assurance that any client will obtain a recovery in any claim, or obtain a favorable award at the time of hearing, the following are representative claims where we have made successful recoveries on behalf of our clients.
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- Successfully represented foreign investor against US broker-dealer before FINRA Arbitration, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals as to the Federal Arbitration Act, FINRA jurisdiction and control person liability under the federal securities laws.
- Multimillion dollar recover on behalf of a group of investors against national “independent” broker dealer in connection with the sale of Ponzi scheme from branch office by unregistered control person.
- Recovered damages against discount broker for unauthorized discretionary trading of high risk options and other securities customer accounts by its registered representative.
- Consolidated before the United States Judicial Panel on Multi District Litigation, and successfully defeated series of injunctions by national brokerage firm seeking to bar nine investors, in five jurisdictions, from pursuing claims as customers against before FINRA.
- Successfully represented a group of investors in an $8.7 million action against national brokerage firm for the failure to supervise the outside business activities of its registered representative.
- Recovered damages on behalf of large investor in $20 million claim against broker-dealer for front running, excessive activity, and fraud in connection with the sale of listed securities as principal.
- Successfully represented foreign investor action against national broker dealer in connection the underwriting and sale of the preferred securities of financial institutions, collateralized mortgage obligations.
- Recovered damages against the affiliated broker-dealers of several regional banks engaged in the diversion of retail bank customers to broker-dealer in connection with the sale of investment company securities and variable annuity contracts.
- Successfully represented seven different groups of investors, all of whom were early retirees from large industrial company, in action against national broker-dealer and its former agent for false promises and the sale of unsuitable proprietary mutual funds and other securities.
- Recovered damages in $3.7 million action against national broker dealer whose agent was engaged in the sale of off-shore investment trusts.
- Represented union pension plan in multimillion dollar action against broker-dealer affiliate of large national bank engaged in the sale of the preferred securities of financial institutions.
- Represented investor victim in Multi-Financial Securities Corp. v. Brown, U.S. Dist. LEXIS 26527 (E.D. Pa.) against national brokerage firm based upon the outside business activities of its former agent and the determination of who is a “customer” under the Code of Arbitration Procedure.
- Made recovery against clearing firm of introducing broker-dealer where clearing firm had prior notice of civil and regulatory background of control persons, and extended credit to introducing broker-dealer in connection with the sale of proprietary securities as principal.
- Represented customers of regional bank in action against affiliated broker-dealer in connectionwith the sale of high risk municipal bonds sold as principal with substantial undisclosed mark-ups.
- Successfully represented several different investors in action against particular brokerage firm, and particular branch office of national “independent” brokerage firm engaged in the sale of high risk non-trade Real Estate Investment Trusts or REITs.
- Made significant recovery against international broker-dealer for the failure to implement or enforce its own rules and reasonably prevent the theft of approximately $2 million in customer funds by third parties.
- Successfully recovered damages against national broker dealer for failure to train or supervise agent engaged in the sale of inverse and leveraged ETF funds to investor customers.
- Obtained significant recovery against broker-dealer that knew, but failed to disclose to securities regulators or its customers, the circumstances under which its former registered representative was terminated and otherwise allowed to continue his scheme against these same customers.
- Obtained award for compensatory damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees on behalf of individual investor against second largest producer of national brokerage firm.
- Successfully obtained recovery for group of injured investors sold Collateralized Mortgage Obligations by regional brokerage firm through a series of false statements and Omissions.
- Made several recoveries against large national discount broker for fraud in connection with the sale and recommendation of high yield, high risk, non-traditional money market securities.
- Disabled victim of medical malpractice action, investing proceeds with broker, where broker traded account excessively in speculative securities and options without client’s authorization, in margin resulting in the loss of the entire account.
- Proceeds of divorce settlement improvidently invested in speculative securities, without diversifying account, in complete disregard of client’s financial condition.
- Fraudulent sale of high yield junk bonds to unsophisticated widow following death of her husband.
- Fraudulent sale of worthless and illiquid direct participation programs to disabled medical school professor and retired physician resulting in the loss of substantially his entire life savings.
- Older executive fully vested in company stock options. Options exercised, and proceeds invested in technology and Internet related securities in complete disregard of customer’s stated investment objectives.
- Client advised to take early retirement by broker, investing client’s life savings in speculative securities on margin, result in substantial loss of entire account.
- Unauthorized trading of customer account belonging to a 82 year old widow on margin, in technology and other securities.
- The fraudulent sale of unsuitable and proprietary Class B mutual fund shares by a broker, to avoid breakpoints or quantity discounts associated with the purchase of Class A shares, so as to maximize the broker’s commissions.
- Illegal sale of unregistered promissory notes by a licensed stockbroker, outside of the approval of his firm, to senior citizens, and other retirees.
- The fraudulent sale of long term Certificates of Deposit to a younger couple under the guise that these instruments, subject to interest rate risk, were traditional bank CDs.Short term trading of high risk thinly traded municipal bonds with excessive mark-ups.
- The over-investment and unsuitable extension of margin, against a customer’s securities account where the customer needed access to the account to pay living an other expenses.
- The fraudulent sale of annuities to 93 year old widow that paid no benefits, other than generate fees until she reached 103.
- The fraudulent sale of otherwise worthless “house” stocks by over-the-counter, boiler-room type brokerage firm to senior citizens and retirees.
OUR PRACTICE AREAS
FINRA Arbitration
The litigation of individual and group investor claims against securities broker-dealers and investment professionals adjuducated in arbitration before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
Defective Financial Products
Alternative Investments, Promissory Notes, Structured Products, High Yield Bond Funds, Non-Marketable Real Estate Investment Trusts, Inverse and Leveraged ETFs, the Failure to Conduct Due Diligence.
Unsuitable Investments
Speculative or High Risk Investment Recommendations, Unsuitable Investment Strategies, Low Priced Securities, Customer Specific Unsuitability, Inappropriate Investment Recommendations.
Stockbroker Misconduct
Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Churing, Unauthorized Trading, Fraud, Stockbroker Theft, Ponzi Schemes, the Sale of Unapprovied investments.
