by Bill Singer
One FINRA Arbitration.Three Respondents. Three Different Outcomes.
August 16, 2010
By Statement of Claim filed in September 2007, Claimant Wachovia Securities, LLC. alleged,
- Breach of Protocol Agreement;
- Breach of Contract;
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty;
- Unfair Competition;
- Repayment of Promissory Notes;
- Repayment of "Front" Fees and expenses; and
- Repayment of Client Charge-Backs.
Respondents
- Citigroup Global Markets,
- John C. Zannakis, and
- William E. REDACTED
generally denied the allegations and asserted various affirmative defenses. Respondents Zannakis and Wolfson counterclaimed for unpaid wages. In the Matter of Wachovia Securities, LLC, Claimant, versus John C. Zannakis, William E. REDACTED, and Citgroup Global Markets, Respondents. (FINRA Arbitration $07-02623, August 10, 2010).
One Arbitration But Three Very Different Outcomes for the Three Respondents
On June 25, 2009, Claimant dismissed its claims against Citigroup. One down, two to go.
In June 2009, Respondent REDACTED filed for bankruptcy and in accordance with the law, all claims against him are stayed. Consequently, the FINRA Arbitration Panel has not made any determination concerning the claims against him. Two down, one to go.
The FINRA Arbitration Panel found Respondent Zannakis liable for $85,863.00 in compensatory damages, $14,597.00 in interest from August 2007 through July 2010; $8,000 in Claimant's attorneys' fees (pursuant to the terms of the Promissory Note Agreement); and $500 in filing fees.
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Here's a Whopper of a Story (or should I say a Big Mac?)
It was New Year's Day when Melodi Dushane pulled up to the drive-thru window at McDonald's in Toledo, Ohio. She was hungry but not for breakfast food. She wanted Chicken McNuggets. She ordered Chicken McNuggets.
You wouldn't think that those facts would be the lead-in for much of a story.
Unfortunately for the McNuggety inclined Ms. Dushane, McDonald's has this strict dietary policy. They don't do poultry pieces during breakfast. I guess it's either Egg McMuffin or nuthin'.
Not in the mood for an eggy treat, Dushane was not a happy camper. A lot of folks are unhappy lately. There was that airline steward the other day who grabbed a couple of beers and exited the plane through the emergency slide. However it's not Dushane's displeasure is quite a sight to behold. In fact, you can see her tantrum on video. She slugs some McDonald's employees. She then throws a bottle through the drive-thru window.
Not surprisingly, Dushane says that she was drunk at the time. Equally unsurprising, she was sentenced to 60 days in jail and ordered to pay McDonald's for the broken window.
Of course, I'm still impressed to see that as the car behind her pulls into the window that the server manages to hand out the order while calling 911 on the cellphone. Now that's job dedication.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlbV-NPT56s&feature=fvw
Bill Singer's Brilliant and Insightful Commentary: I'm not sure what this episode says about anything. Frankly, I don't have to always come up with some clever analysis about everything. I mean, like what, you're paying premium dollars for all this incredible content that I post?
The way my mind works, I just kept reading about Melodi Dushane, which, oddly, put me in mind to think about Andy Dufresne. Dushane. Dufresne. What's the connection? Hey, gimme a break here, I gotta do all the heavy lifting? You figured out how to work the Internet yet? Yeah -- great. Google "Andy Dufresne." You don't like Google? Then Bing the damn name for all I care. You don't like Bing? Listen, trust me on this, you really don't want me to start looking around for a couple of beers and drive over to your place and order Chicken McNuggets.
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[M]aybe I'm just dense but did anyone at the SEC or FINRA even bother to monitor Morgan Stanley's monthly statements for this mandated disclosure -- you know, like for even one month during the six in question? After all, hundreds of millions of dollars later, many promises later, years later, Morgan Stanley agreed to print a disclosure on its statements that indicated the availability of the independent research. Apparently, that disclosure didn't make it on to the statements. Sort of an easy omission to spot, no? And the excuse from Wall Street's cops is what? They were too busy on other more important things?
We didn't see it. Is that the sorry state to which Wall Street's regulators have fallen? Of course, if you're not looking, you can't see anything.
Moreover, given that FINRA is crediting "Morgan Stanley's self-review and self reporting of some of its disclosure violations. . ." you have to wonder whether any regulator would have uncovered this long-term, massive disclosure failure by Morgan Stanley but for the firm's own efforts to come clean. . .
Read Bill Singer's Entire Huffington Post Article at:
FINRA Arbitration: Sometimes It Pays To Settle
http://registeredrep.com/securities_law/finance_finra_arbitration_sometimes/index.html
Within weeks of your departure from your former brokerage firm, the first of what are typically three letters arrives. It's sort of friendly and all. "Sorry that you left. You may recall that we gave you a $140,000 Employee Forgivable Loan (‘EFL') secured by seven years of promissory notes. You left after only five and one-half years. You didn't make it to the sixth anniversary. You owe us a two-year refund in the amount of $40,000."
You think that you should at least get full credit for the partial sixth year of service, and, at most, owe your former employer $20,000. Of course, you're still fuming at having to pack up and leave. You blame that on lousy management. So you toss the letter into the garbage.
The next letter is less friendly. Perhaps you didn't understand? "You owe us $40,000, plus interest that is now adding up since the date you left. If we go to court, we will seek attorneys' fees. You better call us or send a check within ten days or we're going to pursue our legal remedies." Again, you shoot a three-pointer into the garbage can.
The third letter is so hot and nasty that it arrives smoking. "You have ten days to pay us in full or we are filing a FINRA arbitration Statement of Claim against you. And, by the way, we may go into court to get a restraining order against you and your current firm because we think you violated your Non-Solicitation Agreement."
READ THE FULL ARTICLE BY BILL SINGER AT
http://registeredrep.com/securities_law/finance_finra_arbitration_sometimes/index.html