May 4, 2012
Bloomberg
Susan Antilla
American business entered its Teflon era on a spring day 25 years ago. Lawyer Madelaine Eppenstein had taken the morning off from work for a parent-teacher event at her 5-year-old’s elementary school on June 8, 1987, when she was summoned to the principal’s office for an urgent call. Her husband and law partner, Theodore Eppenstein, […]
April 23, 2012
SmartMoney
Anna Prior
The scenario is not unlike those Olympic lowlights of yore: A Soviet gymnast flubs the floor exercise; a moment later, the Soviet judge scores the routine a perfect 10. Such has been the experience for many investors as they’ve sought compensation from their brokerage firms for everything from alleged misrepresentation to supposed breaches of fiduciary […]
April 16, 2012
Financial Planning
Donna Mitchell
In a rare move, a FINRA arbitration panel sided with a financial advisor who claimed his former firm, Lincoln Financial Advisors, defamed him after a firing, and ordered the firm to pay $2 million in damages. Lincoln Financial Advisors had abruptly terminated Jeffrey Concepcion in August 2008, according to the arbitration filing, and then withheld […]
March 22, 2012
Dow Jones Compliance Watch
Caitlin Nish
Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. has let anyone who cares know how he feels about the system that obliges investors and employees at brokerage firms to take all disputes to arbitration. Cogburn, a U.S. district court judge in North Carolina, expressed a deep dislike for the mandatory arbitration system managed by the Financial Industry Regulatory […]
March 20, 2012
USA Today
Kevin McCoy
Citigroup’s tab for reimbursing clients who said the financial giant misled them into investing in risky hedge funds marketed as the safety equivalent of municipal bonds has soared to at least $85 million. And counting. The payments, awarded since 2008 in 59 arbitrations or settlements, represent just part of a continuing legacy of the nation’s […]