Lax & Neville LLP has filed a federal lawsuit in the Western District of North Carolina against Bank of America Corporation and Bank of America N.A. (“BOA”) on behalf of loan or mortgage officers who worked in locations across the country. The action for unpaid overtime and minimum wage is…
Today, the Southern District of New York granted Morgan Stanley’s motion to compel arbitration in the class action Shafer, et. al. v. Morgan Stanley, et. al. (Case 1:20-cv-11047-PGG). Plaintiffs, former Morgan Stanley financial advisors, sued Morgan Stanley asserting that Morgan Stanley violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974…
Recently, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Department of Enforcement fined and suspended an ex-Merrill registered financial advisor, who had been in the industry for nearly 35 years, for breaching FINRA Rule 2010 and firm policy by violating his duty to maintain the confidentiality of a customer’s nonpublic information. Merrill…
On September 9, 2022, the Superior Court of the State of California entered judgment on a FINRA Arbitration Award against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, ordering it to pay more than $10 million to seven investment advisors formerly employed in the Los Angeles and San Francisco branches of its now-closed…
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO PODCAST Need legal tips for your financial advisor practice? Recent media coverage of an advisor’s transition from RBC to UBS and then back to RBC has shone a light on the legal missteps an advisor can make when moving their book of business to a…
Lax & Neville LLP has successfully brought claims on behalf of former Credit Suisse investment advisers for their portion of the over $200 million of deferred compensation that Credit Suisse refused to pay its advisors when it closed its US private bank in 2015, violating the advisers’ employment agreements and…
On February 4, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) charged three individuals and affiliated entities with running “a Ponzi-like scheme” that raised over $1.7 billion by selling unregistered, high commission private placements issued by GPB Capital Holdings, an alternative asset management firm. The SEC alleges that David Gentile, the…
Lax & Neville LLP is investigating claims involving Amarin, a speculative biotech stock recommended and sold to investors by financial advisors. Amarin is a biopharmaceutical company with one significant commercial product, Vascepa, a fish oil drug designed to reduce cardiovascular risk among patients with elevated risks of cardiovascular events and…
On August 31, 2020, the Massachusetts Superior Court confirmed a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) Arbitration Award against Credit Suisse for more than $2 million owed to four former Credit Suisse advisors represented by Lax & Neville LLP, including approximately $1.6 million in unlawfully withheld deferred compensation, more than $83,000…
The New Hampshire Bureau of Securities Regulation is reportedly investigating Merrill Lynch and Charles Kenahan, one of its top-producing brokers, over customer complaints alleging “churning” in their accounts that resulted in damages of approximately $200 million. Churning, or excessive trading, occurs when a broker or financial advisor trades securities in…