Every October, FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution significantly reduces mediation prices in order to encourage mediation and settlement of customer and industry disputes. The goal of Settlement Month is to encourage parties to experience the benefits of mediation for the first time and to reinforce its value and effectiveness for those who have been through…
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The Department of Labor (“DOL”) recently submitted a proposal to delay implementation of the remaining parts of its fiduciary rule from January 1, 2018 until July 1, 2019. Two provisions of the rule, which greatly expands the definition of who counts as a fiduciary under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act and the Internal Revenue…
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The SEC approved a proposed rule change to amend FINRA Rules 12402 and 12403 of the Customer Code and Rule 13403 of the Industry Code to allow the Director of FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution (“Director”) to send the list generated by the Neutral List Selection System to all parties at the same time, within…
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Our firm recently obtained an award from a FINRA panel denying all of Claimant’s claims and finding for Respondents. The panel also granted our Motion for Expungement. The claim (Arbitration number 16-03568) was filed in December, 2016. Claimant alleged claims of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, failure to supervise, violation of the Alabama…
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Arbitration case filings for year-end 2016 reflected a 7 percent increase compared to cases filed in 2015 during the same time frame. More specifically, 3,435 cases were filed in 2015, but 3,681 cases were filed in 2016. Of the 3,681 cases filed, 68 percent or 2,519 were customer disputes and 32 percent or 1,162 were…
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In SEC v. Levin, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (“Eleventh Circuit”) held that the safe harbor provision of Regulation D’s Rule 508(a) is available to a defendant in a Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) enforcement action based on a failure to register securities under Section 5 of the Securities Act….
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FINRA released its Regulatory and Examination Priorities Letter for 2017. The letter provides information about areas FINRA plans to review in its 2017 exams based on observations from their regulatory programs, as well as input from various stakeholders, including broker dealers, other regulators and investor advocates. According to its letter, FINRA will be increasing its…
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Our firm recently obtained an award from a FINRA panel denying all of Claimant’s claims and finding for Respondents. The claim (Arbitration number 16-01352) was filed in May, 2016. Claimant alleged claims of unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, failure to supervise, violation of the Alabama Securities Act, violation of securities regulatory rules,…
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FINRA allows for expedited arbitration proceedings in cases involving senior and seriously ill parties. While there is no specific rule within the Code of Arbitration Procedure, once FINRA determines that a matter involves an elderly or ill party, the case is flagged as an expedited case. FINRA then endeavors to complete the arbitration process as quickly…
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FINRA released Regulatory Notice 16-25 reminding broker dealers that claimants have a right to request arbitration through FINRA at any time and do not forfeit that right by signing any agreement with a forum selection provision specifying another dispute resolution process or an arbitration venue other than the FINRA arbitration forum. FINRA Code…
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