The dismissal of an Apple REIT class action lawsuit against David Lerner Associates Inc. in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York should have little effect on the Apple REIT arbitration cases that are being resolved through Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration. In fact, most investors are…
Articles Posted in Financial Firms
Previous Dissent by Arbitrator is Not Reason to Vacate Award Morgan Keegan Was Ordered to Pay Investors, Says District Court
The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida is holding that an arbitration award granted to investors cannot be vacated under the Federal Arbitration Act just because an arbitrator exhibited obvious partiality when failing to reveal that he wrote a dissent in an unrelated arbitration that allegedly showed…
RMBS Lawsuit Against Deutsche Bank Can Proceed, Says District Court
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York is refusing to throw out the shareholder securities fraud lawsuit filed against Deutsche Bank (DB) and three individuals over their alleged role in marketing residential mortgage-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities before the economic crisis. The court found that the…
Deutsche Bank Settles Massachusetts CDO Case for $17.5 Million
Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. has consented to pay $17.5 million to the state of Massachusetts to settle allegations by that it did not disclose conflicts of interest involving collateralized debt obligation-related activities leading up to the financial crisis. Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin also is accusing the firm of…
Barclays Capital, Interactive Brokers, Lebenthal & Co., and Advisors Asset Management Pay $105,000 in FINRA Fines Related to Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board Violations
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is ordering four financial firms to pay $105,000 in fines for Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board violations related to political contribution, pricing, supervision, and other rules. The SRO noted the fines in its monthly disciplinary report. One firm, Interactive Brokers LLC, must pay $7,500 for trade…
Investors are Not Raymond James Financial Customers for FINRA Arbitration Purposes, Rules 4th Circuit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed that, for purposes of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration, investors who lost the investment they made on stock they purchased from a lawyer connected to a Raymond James Financial Services (RJF) Inc. broker are not the brokerage firm’s client. The…
2nd Circuit Eases MBS Lawsuits by Reinstating Pension Fund’s Case Against Wells Fargo, Royal Bank of Scotland, Wachovia, & Others
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has reinstated New Jersey Carpenters Health Fund v. Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC (RBS), which also includes defendants Wells Fargo Advisors (WFC), McGraw-Hill (MHP), and a number of others. The decision will ease class action mortgage-backed securities lawsuits by investors.…
Citigroup Will Pay $730M in Bond Lawsuit Alleging It Misled Debt Investors
Pending court approval, Citigroup Inc. (C) will $730 million to resolve claims that it misled debt investors regarding its financial state during the economic crisis. The plaintiffs had purchased Citi preferred stock and bonds from 5/06 through 11/8. They are accusing Citigroup of misleading the buyers of 48 issues of…
Stakeholders With $55M Securities Fraud Case Against Government Over AIG Bailout Get Class Action Certification
The plaintiffs who are suing the US Government over losses they claim they sustained during its bailout of American International Group (AIG) have been granted class certification. Seeking $55 million, they are contending that the government behaved unconstitutionally when it rescued the company in 2008 during the economic crisis. In…
Two Oppenheimer Investment Advisers Settle for Over $2.8M SEC Fraud Charges Over Private Equity Fund
The SEC is charging Oppenheimer Alternative Investment Management and Oppenheimer Asset Management, which are two Oppenheimer & Co. investment advisers, with misleading customers about the valuation policies and performance of a private equity fund under their management. To settle the allegations, Oppenheimer will pay over $2.8M. It has also resolved…