Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: A Discussion of Industry and Consumer Perspectives on Mass Arbitration
California Employment News: The State of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California Employment
Podcast: California Employment News - The State of Mandatory Arbitration Agreements in California Employment
#WorkforceWednesday: NLRB Focuses on Severance Agreements, Supreme Court Opens Overtime to HCEs, Ninth Circuit Rejects CA's Mandatory Arbitration Ban - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: SCOTUS Rules on PAGA, Fifth Circuit Rules on COVID-19 Under WARN, Illinois Expands Bereavement Leave - Employment Law This Week®
California Employment News: US Supreme Court “Viking River” Decision Brings PAGA Relief for CA Employers
#WorkforceWednesday: EEOC COVID-19 Charges Surge, NYC’s Pay Transparency Law, SCOTUS Considers PAGA - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: New Law on Arbitration of Sexual Harassment Claims, Cyber War Ramps Up, Salaried Nonexempt Status - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law Now VI-114-Banning Arbitration of Sexual Harassment/Assault Claims
Update and Discussion on Legal and Practical Issues
DE Under 3: OFCCP Contractor Portal & Request for Comments for Functional Affirmative Action Programs (FAAPs)
Employment Law This Week®: FAA Arguably Preempts California Law, New CA Employment Laws for 2020, CA Consumer Privacy Act Amended
Regulators Hit Jackpot: Off-Channel Communications - Several years before announcing the first “off-channel” communications enforcement action, the SEC and FINRA cautioned broker-dealers and investment advisers about...more
As any Wall Street litigator knows, in the securities industry, it is typical for brokerage firms to incentivize their employed financial advisers with significant upfront compensation at the beginning of a relationship or...more
Relying on the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and noting that the FAA “enumerates limited grounds on which a federal court may vacate, modify, or correct an arbitral award,” the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has now granted certiorari to decide if federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction to confirm or vacate an arbitration award under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), Sections 9 and 10. 9 U.S.C. §§...more
Garner v. Inter-State Oil Co., 52 Cal.App.5th 619, Cal. App. 3 Dist., June 26, 2020, as modified (Jul 23, 2020) - Plaintiff filed a class action alleging that his employer, Inter-State Oil Co., violated a variety of wage...more
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) is an independent regulatory body, overseeing securities firms and their brokers and other registered personnel. Arbitration of employment disputes in the arbitration...more
This week, we take a look at the Ninth Circuit’s decision handing an important victory to banks by declaring FINRA rules against compelled arbitration don’t bar enforcement of class waivers... ...more
The petitioner filed a complaint seeking to vacate an arbitration award, and the respondents moved to dismiss. Despite “the deferential standard of review” given to arbitration awards and the petitioner’s “significantly...more
I have previously written about issues uniquely affecting individuals who are dually registered as securities representatives (Series 7) and commodities associated persons (Series 3). In an Opinion and Order issued June 4,...more
Michael Miller (“Miller”) filed a petition to vacate an arbitration award against UBS Financial Services Inc. and UBS Credit Corp. (collectively “UBS”) claiming that “the award is unsound because two of the three arbitrators...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which the plaintiff filed a FINRA arbitration against his broker alleging suitability, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, failure to supervise, and other claims. The...more
Is there such a thing as an arbitration joke? Here is a test. Two plaintiffs walk into a court, claiming that each was wrongfully terminated by a bank (UBS). The bank moves to compel arbitration by plaintiff one; and it moves...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight about the timing of vacatur requests under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In this case, citing the FAA, the court denied defendant's vacatur arguments for...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
The background of this matter could be found here. In sum, Plaintiffs Dr. Luis Ortiz-Espinosa and his wife Maritza Soto-Garcia, the conjugal partnership they formed, Espinosa-Soto, and Luis Ortiz-Espinosa, as trustee of...more
This case involved an underlying arbitration before an arbitration panel operating under the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules, which was brought by Judith and Kenneth Goldman against their financial...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reversed its own precedent to allow federal courts examining petitions under § 10 of the FAA to “look through” the petition to examine if there is federal...more
The Fifth Circuit Bar Association’s summary reports: “Appellants were investors who suffered financial losses as a result of R. Allen Stanford’s Ponzi scheme. In their arbitration complaint, they sought $80 million in...more
Following are two interesting and recent federal court rulings related to arbitration. Award of Attorney’s Fees Associated with Motion to Confirm Reversed on Appeal - Zurich American Insurance (as subrogee of Vinmar...more
A disappointed claimant in a FINRA arbitration filed suit under section 10 of the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”) in United States District Court to vacate the arbitral award. The court dismissed the case for lack of...more
In a case involving a FINRA arbitration between investors and their financial advisor, Judge Anita S. Brody of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania found that she did not have the...more
In a case involving a dispute between a not-for-profit corporation administering a self-insured group workers’ compensation fund and their investment advisor and broker-dealer, the Supreme Court of Alabama granted the fund’s...more
This case involved a FINRA arbitration held to resolve a dispute over money allegedly owed to Ameriprise Financial Services by a former financial adviser. The financial adviser appealed the district court’s confirmation of...more
Following the final 2014 meeting of the Board of Governors last week, FINRA announced its proposal to increase fees associated with cancelling or postponing an arbitration hearing. In a December 4, 2014 email to firms, FINRA...more
In an April 24th ruling that will have widespread impact among financial institutions, the FINRA Board of Governors held that a broker-dealer violated FINRA rules by including a mandatory class action waiver in its customer...more