Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini reviewed a case questioning whether privity exists between officers of the United States if, in the earlier litigation, the representative of the government had authority to...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a court’s authority to compel arbitration where FINRA has declined to accept a case. In this case, following the Director of FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini outlined the factors courts must consider in determining whether the fees an adviser charges a mutual fund are excessive and in violation of the Investment Company Act. All the...more
5/31/2020
/ Appeals ,
Board of Directors ,
Excessive Fees ,
Gartenberg Factors ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Company Act of 1940 ,
Mutual Funds ,
Section 36(b) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholders ,
Summary Judgment
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed whether a federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over an expungement petition. While several courts have previously said no, this court directed the parties brief...more
11/2/2019
/ 28 USC 1331 ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Expungement ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sua Sponte ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini reviewed a putative class case filed against a brokerage firm alleging that the firm breached its client agreement by purchasing risky reverse convertible notes (RCNs) for clients...more
10/30/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Compliance ,
Convertible Notes ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Statutory Violations ,
Structured Financial Products ,
Suitability Rule ,
Summary Judgment
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case in which the defendant appealed a verdict claiming the court abused its discretion and issued a “highly excessive” judgment when it ordered him to disgorge...more
3/12/2019
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Disgorgement ,
Final Judgment ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Jury Verdicts ,
Misrepresentation ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which a SEC registered investment advisor sued for defamation and intentional interference with contractual relations after The Wall Street Journal published an...more
11/21/2018
/ Arbitration Awards ,
Confidentiality Agreements ,
Defamation ,
False Reporting ,
First Amendment ,
Interference Claims ,
Investment Adviser ,
Judicial Proceedings ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Printed Publications ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Wall Street Journal
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case brought by the SEC against an individual broker accused of violations of Section 17(A) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act...more
6/22/2018
/ Admissible Evidence ,
Brokers ,
Fifth Amendment ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Misrepresentation ,
Omissions ,
Recklessness ,
Rule 10(b) ,
Scienter ,
Section 17(a) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Litigation ,
Securities Violations ,
Summary Judgment
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which UBS Puerto Rico sought to overcome its insurance carriers' refusal to defend and provide coverage for two civil actions, settlements with the SEC and FINRA...more
3/6/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Bonds ,
Breach of Contract ,
Claim Construction ,
Cross Motions ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Fund Managers ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Puerto Rico ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Summary Judgment ,
Underwriting
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 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 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 discussed the class action suit brought against Party City alleging the company failed to disclose material facts in SEC documents when it did not discuss the impact the decline in...more
4/19/2017
/ Class Action ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Material Misstatements ,
Materiality ,
Omissions ,
Prospectus ,
Registration Statement ,
Section 11 ,
Section 12 ,
Section 15(c) ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stock Drop Litigation
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which the plaintiff claimed he was wrongfully terminated from employment at Morgan Stanley after the company discovered he reported alleged illegal activities to...more
3/3/2017
/ Dismissals ,
Dodd-Frank ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Morgan Stanley ,
Retaliation ,
Sarbanes-Oxley ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Twombly/Iqbal Pleading Standard ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination