Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a court’s authority to compel arbitration where FINRA has declined to accept a case. In this case, following the Director of FINRA’s Office of Dispute Resolution...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini outlined a case in which the court applied res judicata and barred a party from maintaining a later action due to the following criteria:
1. The prior action was decided on the...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided additional insight case in which a former investment advisor at UBS sought to prevent the company from collecting on promissory notes the advisor owed to UBS upon his...more
12/10/2019
/ Attorney's Fees ,
Court-Appointed Receivers ,
Discovery ,
Failure To Respond ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Forcible Entry and Detainer ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Investment Management ,
Promissory Notes ,
Punitive Damages ,
Trial Court Orders
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed whether a federal court has subject matter jurisdiction over an expungement petition. While several courts have previously said no, this court directed the parties brief...more
11/2/2019
/ 28 USC 1331 ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Exclusive Jurisdiction ,
Expungement ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Sua Sponte ,
Subject Matter Jurisdiction
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini reviewed a putative class case filed against a brokerage firm alleging that the firm breached its client agreement by purchasing risky reverse convertible notes (RCNs) for clients...more
10/30/2019
/ Breach of Contract ,
Compliance ,
Convertible Notes ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
SLUSA ,
Statutory Violations ,
Structured Financial Products ,
Suitability Rule ,
Summary Judgment
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a broker/dealer’s effort to prevent a FINRA arbitration case involving representatives selling away activities from going forward. The plaintiff, Centaurus Financial, sought...more
10/8/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Declaratory Judgments ,
Declaratory Relief ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FRCP 12(b)(3) ,
Improper Venue ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Sua Sponte
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined a case in which a wrongful death action was brought against J.P. Morgan and related entities after the death of a former broker. Following the suicidal death of the broker,...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini examined further developments in a case involving a former UBS investment advisor’s attempt to prevent the company from collecting on promissory notes the advisor owed to UBS upon...more
10/8/2018
/ Actual Malice ,
Appeals ,
Asset Freeze ,
Asset Transfer ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Creditors ,
De Novo Standard of Review ,
Debtors ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Former Employee ,
Fraudulent Transfers ,
Insolvency ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Companies ,
Limited Liability Company (LLC) ,
Operating Agreements ,
Promissory Notes ,
Punitive Damages ,
Spouses ,
Summary Judgment ,
Venue ,
Void Contracts
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
8/16/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Breach of Duty ,
Brokers ,
Cause of Action Accrual ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) ,
Motion to Compel ,
Motion To Stay
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed the class action case brought by former advisers of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) who sought recovery of their unvested deferred compensation following the closure of...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 analyzed a case in which UBS Puerto Rico sought to overcome its insurance carriers' refusal to defend and provide coverage for two civil actions, settlements with the SEC and FINRA...more
3/6/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Bonds ,
Breach of Contract ,
Claim Construction ,
Cross Motions ,
Denial of Insurance Coverage ,
Dismissal With Prejudice ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Fraud ,
Fund Managers ,
Insurance Contracts ,
Insurance Industry ,
Insurance Litigation ,
Investment Adviser ,
Puerto Rico ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Shareholder Litigation ,
Shareholders ,
Summary Judgment ,
Underwriting
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a case in which a former broker sought to overturn a jury verdict finding him guilty of securities fraud, obstruction of justice and wire fraud by arguing, among...more
2/26/2018
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Brokers ,
Determination on Remand ,
Evidentiary Hearings ,
False Statements ,
FBI ,
Federal Rules of Evidence ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Former Employee ,
Impeachment ,
Influencers ,
Juror ,
Obstruction of Justice ,
Prejudice ,
Reversal ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stocks ,
Wire Fraud
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which defendant Wilson-Davis, a securities firm, sought to enjoin an arbitration brought against it alleging that the firm's failure to supervise its agent caused...more
2/1/2018
/ Abuse of Discretion ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Mandatory Arbitration ,
Motion To Enjoin ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Securities Litigation ,
Supervision
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed an adversary proceeding brought against a broker by a plaintiff seeking recovery of investment losses. After the plaintiff filed a FINRA arbitration, the broker filed a...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini analyzed a case in which Plaintiffs, attempting to overcome an earlier dismissal of their claims, alleged a conspiracy between an email archiving vendor and FINRA in support of their...more
11/20/2017
/ Claim Preclusion ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Email ,
Federal Rule 12(b)(6) ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
FRCP 12(b)(2) ,
Personal Jurisdiction ,
Professional Disciplinary Actions ,
Res Judicata ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Spoliation
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which a court took the unusual step of remanding a case to the arbitration panel to explain the rationale behind its award. The Court made the decision because...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on a lawsuit involving a former broker of Wells Fargo who sued the firm in state court for fraud and personal injury when the company initiated a foreclosure action...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
9/14/2017
/ Arbitration Award Challenges ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Brokerage Accounts ,
Burden of Proof ,
Colombia ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Inter-American Convention ,
International Arbitration ,
Motion to Vacate ,
New Zealand ,
Post-Judgment Enforcement Actions ,
Wells Fargo
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which the defendant filed fraud and RICO actions in federal court against several persons and entities alleging they defrauded her out of millions of dollars....more
7/17/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Broker-Dealer ,
Dismissals ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Imminent Harm ,
Injunctive Relief ,
JPMorgan Chase ,
Merrill Lynch ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Securities Fraud ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Subsequent Litigation ,
Waivers
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed the court's interpretation of "customer" under FINRA Rule 12200 in a case where a clearing firm sought to avoid arbitration. The court defines a "customer" as one who,...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini provided insight on factors a court should consider when determining whether a party has waived a contractual right to arbitration. The factors, which are tied to potential prejudice...more
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini discussed a case where defendant carried out a personal vendetta against the plaintiff following plaintiff's report against defendant for violations of securities laws. Following...more
12/7/2016
/ Broker-Dealer ,
Damages ,
Defamation ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Genuine Issue of Material Fact ,
Libel ,
Libel Per Se ,
Reputational Injury ,
Summary Judgment ,
Tortious Interference ,
Whistleblowers ,
Wrongful Termination
Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Chris Lazarini commented on a case in which a former trader fraudulently purchased $1 billion in Apple shares that ultimately forced the closure of the trader's firm, Rochdale Securities. Rochdale...more
11/15/2016
/ American Rule ,
Appeals ,
Apple ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Clearing Agencies ,
Compensatory Damages ,
Consequential Damages ,
Contract Disputes ,
Counterclaims ,
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) ,
Manifest Disregard ,
Motion to Vacate ,
Securities Fraud ,
Stocks ,
Willful Misconduct
In 2008, Move, Inc., initiated a FINRA arbitration against Citigroup Global Markets, alleging that Citigroup improperly invested over $131 million of Move's assets in illiquid and unsuitable auction rate securities. The...more