The Law of the Financial Markets from Top Securities Lawyers
Saturday, September 30, 2023
Securities arbitration refers to the alternative dispute resolution process to resolve claims between broker firms and their customers and employees. FINRA operates the largest arbitration forum in the United States for the resolution of these disputes.
While no one can be forced to give up their rights to a trial in court, virtually all agreements between investors and their stockbrokers include mandatory arbitration agreements, and every registered stockbroker is required to arbitrate their disputes with their customers and firms.
Our site has been providing information regarding securities arbitration since 1995, starting with Overview of the Securities Arbitration Process. We update the site on a regular basis and invite you to explore our commentary and links and to ask questions.
Prefer to talk by phone? Call Mark Astarita at 212-509-6544 with any questions regarding securities law, enforcement and arbitration.
Back in December 2019 UBS lost an arbitration case brought by Mark Munizzi, a former UBS regional compliance officer in Chicago, whom the wirehouse fired in 2018. His claim was based on his allegations UBS defamed him with the language it put on his U5 form filed with the Central […]
Elizabeth Warren has once again taken up the charge to end pre-dispute arbitration agreements, which she calls “forced arbitration.” I have addressed the topic on numerous occasions and while I am a fan of arbitration, pre-dispute arbitration agreements can be an issue, particularly in consumer cases, such as car rental […]
UBS customers who have lost money in the UBS Yield Enhancement Strategy (UBS YES), and who have filed arbitration claims against UBS to recover their losses are having their cases move to hearings before FINRA. UBS YES involved investing in options with a complex series of put and call spreads […]
The FINRA CRD system, with its BrokerCheck component, has been a thorn in the side of financial professionals since BrokerCheck was created. Expungement is one way to lessen the impact. Form U-4 and Form U-5 were designed to provide important information to regulators, including pending claims and investigations. The Forms […]
A California federal judge has sided with the issuers of a gaming-related initial coin offering, saying that despite arguments from purchasers of the WAX digital currency to the contrary there is a valid arbitration agreement and the case will be stayed pending arbitration. Read more at: https://www.law360.com/securities/articles/1301386/crypto-investors-case-against-gaming-co-must-be-arbitrated
A former star broker for UBS Financial Services Inc. who was repeatedly called a “bitch” by her boss won a $1.6 million discrimination arbitration award last month. According to InvestmentNews.com, the broker, Chrisine Carona, worked for UBS in Boston from March 2009 through July 2017 and currently is employed by Morgan Stanley. She was […]
Discovery has always been a problem in litigation matters. In broad strokes, plaintiffs want to see every document that might possibly have any bearing on any issue in the case, and defendants don’t want to produce a single document. The courts and arbitration panels spend a significant amount of time […]
Churning claims dominated the securities arbitration landscape in the 2000’s, but have declined over the years, as the trading mania waned. As the markets improved, we have begun to see a resurgence of churning claims again. The common perception among the general public is that a customer who trades his […]
Securities arbitrations, in fact, all arbitrations, are conducted in the same manner that a court trial is held, without some of the formalities. There are opening statements, first by the attorney for the claimant (typically a customer) and then by the respondents (the broker and/or his firm). The openings are […]
Arbitrator selection has always been one of the most important parts of the arbitration process, and FINRA has strived over the years to make the process fair. Unfortunately, it is not as transparent as it might otherwise be. FINRA’s arbitrator appointment process uses the Neutral List Selection System which FINRA […]
