$75K FINRA Arbitration Award Against Wells Fargo Confirmed

In district court, Judge Samuel Conti has confirmed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel’s $75,000 arbitration award to Kenneth Schaffer against Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC. It was the financial firm that began proceedings against its former employer last year.

Schaffer accused Wells Fargo of “ending” his career when on a Form U5, which is a Uniform Termination Notice for Securities Industry Registration, the firm provided descriptions of alleged infractions that he said were misleading and had prevented him from being offered another job. He claimed that the reasons given for his firing were pretextual and that he was actually let go over health issues. Schaffer also disputed Wells Fargo’s claim that he owed them money for a promissory note. While he said that the financial firm had represented the note as a “sales bonus,” Wells Fargo said that after terminating Schaffer’s employment was terminated on October 1, 2009, it should receive the entire $74,617.76 that was owed on a promissory note.

The FINRA arbitration panel, however, agreed with Schaffer and found the promissory notice “unconscionable.” It said that Wells Fargo therefore could not recover on it. The panel also said that because the Form U5 Termination Explanation was of a “defamatory nature,” the financial firm was liable to Schaffer for compensatory damages. The court confirmed the arbitration award, while denying Wells Fargo’s motion to vacate, and entitled Schaffer to recover legal fees.

Our stockbroker fraud lawyers are experienced in recovering our clients’ losses through FINRA arbitration. We also represent investors with securities fraud lawsuits in court.

Related Web Resources:
Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC v. Shaffer, Justia Dockets
Court Confirms FINRA Award Finding Wells Fargo Defamed Employee in Form U-5, BNA Securities Law Daily, July 13, 2011

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AG Edwards & Sons (Wells Fargo Advisors) to Settle Securities Charges it Sold Variable Annuities that Lacked Proper Documentation to Elderly Clients, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, May 4, 2011
NASD Form U-5 Notice of Termination Statements Are ‘Absolutely Privileged,’ Says A Divided New York Court of Appeals, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, April 9, 2007
Wells Fargo Advisors LLC Agrees to $1 Million FINRA Fine for Securities Charges Related to Mutual Fund Prospectus Delivery, Stockbroker Fraud Blog, May 12, 2011