September 8, 2003
Los Angeles Times
Josh Friedman
The probe of mutual fund trading practices unveiled last week by New York Atty. Gen. Eliot Spitzer has rocked the money management industry and left many on Wall Street wondering just what the scandal would mean for the stock market’s fledgling recovery. Although sales could well suffer at the firms directly caught up in Spitzer’s […]
August 25, 2003
Los Angeles Times
A recent state court ruling could allow some California investors to pursue legal claims against brokerages in court rather than before industry-sponsored arbitration panels. The decision last week by an appellate court in Los Angeles marked the latest chapter in a battle between the state and the securities industry over ethics standards for arbitrators. “For […]
July 29, 2003
Los Angeles Daily Journal
9th Circuit Court of Appeals Herbert Coutee is a retired factory worker with a second-grade education. His grandson-in-law Jason Wirtzer arranged to have Coutee’s individual retirement account transferred to Barington Capital Group LP. The transfer agreement provided that New York law would apply to any disputes arising from the agreement. Wirtzer arranged for Barington to […]
July 27, 2003
Los Angeles Times
Walter Hamilton
When Nancy Penoyer-Blau filed an arbitration claim against her brokerage firm 19 months ago, she expected a simple process with a quick resolution. What the Woodland Hills woman got instead was the sort of elaborate and contentious showdown that has become the norm in arbitration proceedings. “It was far more litigious than I had expected,” […]
July 2, 2003
Dow Jones Newswires
While Wall Street draws a sigh of relief that investor litigation has been dismissed against Merrill Lynch & Co. , people who lost money during the dot-com years still have avenues to seek damages from Merrill and other firms. Arbitration and state court are two of the forums for recouping losses, legal experts say. In […]