Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a court's decision finding an arbitration agreement is valid and enforceable even when located in an employee handbook containing a general disclaimer that the handbook is...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed an adversary proceeding brought against a broker by a plaintiff seeking recovery of investment losses. After the plaintiff filed a FINRA arbitration, the broker filed a...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on Thrivent's case seeking to enjoin the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from prohibiting the nonprofit's mandatory use of individual dispute resolution processes. Once the...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which plaintiffs sued a broker dealer, seeking to rescind the purchase of 12 RMBS certificates. While expressing that it would be difficult to find a broker...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which Plaintiffs, attempting to overcome an earlier dismissal of their claims, alleged a conspiracy between an email archiving vendor and FINRA in support of their...more
11/20/2017
/ Claim Preclusion ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Email ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FRCP 12(b)(2) ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Res Judicata ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoliation
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case in which a former commodities broker claimed her former employers retaliated against her for filing a civil rights complaint by causing her new employer to...more
11/16/2017
/ Adverse Employment Action ,
Brokers ,
Commission on Human Rights ,
Complaint Procedures ,
Employment Terms ,
Former Employee ,
Former Employer ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Harassment ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Jury Trial ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Protected Activity ,
Racist Remarks ,
Retaliation
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case involving the repercussions of the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme of Thomas Petters related to the management of the Stewardship Credit Arbitrage Fund, LLC...more
11/13/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Asset Freeze ,
Creditors ,
False Statements ,
Investors ,
Loans ,
Motion to Amend ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Shareholder Distributions ,
Stipulations
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which a court took the unusual step of remanding a case to the arbitration panel to explain the rationale behind its award. The Court made the decision because...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case filed by Morgan Stanley against Defendant in a FINRA arbitration over an un-paid promissory note. The Defendant answered without asserting counterclaims, but later...more
9/28/2017
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Res Judicata ,
State Law Claims ,
Waivers ,
Wrongful Termination
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case involving claims against one defendant that are arbitrable and claims against a second defendant that are not. Exercising its discretion, the court stayed the...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a lawsuit involving a former broker of Wells Fargo who sued the firm in state court for fraud and personal injury when the company initiated a foreclosure action...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case involving an international family dispute over the holdings in a brokerage account. In this instance, the primary owner of the account – a mother living in Columbia...more
9/14/2017
/ Arbitration Award Challenges ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Brokerage Accounts ,
Burden of Proof ,
Colombia ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Inter-American Convention ,
International Arbitration ,
Motion to Vacate ,
New Zealand ,
Post-Judgment Enforcement Actions ,
Wells Fargo
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which a plaintiff filed a breach of fiduciary duty claim in federal court and opposed defendants' efforts to move the claims to arbitration. The plaintiff claimed...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a challenge brought by three Republican state party organizations related to the legality of the 2016 Amendments to MSRB Rule G-37 barring brokers and dealers from...more
9/6/2017
/ Amended Rules ,
Brokers ,
Dealers ,
Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
MSRB ,
Municipal Securities Issuers ,
Political Contributions ,
Political Parties ,
Solicitation ,
Standing
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which a former financial advisor of JPMS claimed his employment was terminated based on racial discrimination. Through application of the three-part burden...more
8/30/2017
/ Admissible Evidence ,
Burden-Shifting ,
But For Causation ,
Circumstantial Evidence ,
Ethics Breach ,
Financial Adviser ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Integrity Policies ,
McDonnell Douglas Formula ,
Mixed Motive Cases ,
Preponderance of the Evidence ,
Pretext ,
Race Discrimination ,
Summary Judgment
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case involving a Plaintiff's suit against a broker-dealer involving his deceased mother's IRA account. Although Plaintiff was a non-signatory to the IRA account...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which an indigent defendant sought to obtain Criminal Justice Act (CJA) funds to retain an expert. The court denied the defendant access to CJA funds because the...more
8/4/2017
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Criminal Convictions ,
Criminal Defense ,
Criminal Justice Act ,
Expert Witness ,
Hackers ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Reaffirmation ,
Sentencing Factors ,
Unfair Prejudice ,
Wire Fraud
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which the defendant filed fraud and RICO actions in federal court against several persons and entities alleging they defrauded her out of millions of dollars....more
7/17/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Imminent Harm ,
Injunctive Relief ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Securities Fraud ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Waivers
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which plaintiff claimed breach of contract when her investment advisor did not transfer funds in a timely manner. The trial court and court of appeals awarded...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case in which the plaintiff, a former stockbroker, sued his employer after he was terminated claiming discrimination under the ADA and ADEA. Under these statutes and...more
6/12/2017
/ ADEA ,
Age Discrimination ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Brokers ,
Burden-Shifting ,
Dismissals ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Pretext ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Waivers
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which a former commodities broker appealed a decision ordering him to pay restitution to his former firm which had made its customers whole after the broker's...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the defendants claimed a state court did not have jurisdiction to hear a class action lawsuit alleging violations of the Securities Act of 1933. The court...more
6/6/2017
/ Class Action ,
Concurrent Jurisdiction ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Federal Jurisdiction ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Pleadings ,
PLSRA ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities Litigation ,
SLUSA ,
State Law Claims
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed the court's interpretation of "customer" under FINRA Rule 12200 in a case where a clearing firm sought to avoid arbitration. The court defines a "customer" as one who,...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on factors a court should consider when determining whether a party has waived a contractual right to arbitration. The factors, which are tied to potential prejudice...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed the court's enforcement of an exculpatory clause in the context of a Trading Advisory Agreement. Where parties elect to include exculpatory clauses in their contracts, such...more
5/2/2017
/ Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
CFTC ,
Damages ,
Dismissals ,
Exculpatory Clauses ,
Fraud ,
Futures ,
Gross Negligence ,
Judicial Notice ,
Leave to Amend ,
Remand ,
Reversal ,
Trading Advisory Agreements (TAAs)