Sympathy For The Bankruptcy Devil In A FINRA Arbitration
May 8, 2015
Today's BrokeAndBroker.com Blog takes us to a FINRA arbitration involving a trust, allegations of unsuitability, and a bit of a dust-up among the arbitrators as to whether the disclosure of a trustee's bankruptcy involved a ploy to gain undue sympathy. One arbitrator argued that the bankruptcy revelation was so prejudicial that it prevented the panel from reaching a fair decision. The majority of the arbitrators, however, echoed Mick Jagger's observation that, hey, it's just the nature of my game. Alas, the Devil is always in the details.
Case In Point
In
a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ("FINRA") Arbitration Statement of
Claim filed in June 2013 and as amended thereafter, Claimants asserted causes
of action against Respondent RBC Capital. Markets including breaches of
fiduciary duty, negligence. There is no
specific recitation in the FINRA Arbitration Decision as to
any causes of action asserted by Claimants against Respondent Interactive
Brokers, LLC. As set forth in the Decision:
Claimants alleged that they are the sole
beneficiaries of the Parker Family Trust (the "Trust") and the
trustee of the Trust was Robert W. Dillard ("Dillard" or
"trustee"). Claimants alleged that the Trust expressly prohibited a
trustee from engaging in speculation with Trust funds, and that Dillard pursued
a patently unsuitable speculative trading strategy that decimated the Trust's
corpus. Claimants alleged that RBC had a copy of the Trust and was aware that
Dillard's investment strategy exceeded his authority as trustee. Claimant also
alleged that Interactive Brokers approved and assisted Dillard's reckless
trading and failed to stop him when it had a duty to protect the Claimants'
interests as the listed owners of the Trust account
As against Respondent RBC, Claimants sought $500,000.00
in compensatory damages, punitive damages, interest, costs, attorneys' fees,
and $213,000 in
disgorgement.
As against Respondent Interactive Brokers, Claimants
sought $1,681,175.53 in compensatory damages (subsequently reduced to
$1,366,796.94), punitive damages, interest, costs, attorneys' fees, and $44,807
in disgorgement.
In the Matter of the FINRA Arbitration Between
Brian L. Parker and Jessica P. Valentine, Individually and as Trustees of the
Parker Family Trust Case Number, Claimants, vs. Interactive Brokers, LLC and
RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Respondent (FINRA Arbitration 13-01876,
April 28, 2015).
Respondents RBC and Interactive Brokers generally denied
the allegations and asserted various affirmative defenses. Respondent RBC
requested the expungement of the Central Registration Depository records ("CRD")
of an unnamed
party.
SIDE BAR: So . . . we got the trust beneficiaries alleging that Dillard, a Trustee who was not named as a party in the FINRA Arbitration, was prohibited from speculating but, notwithstanding, he speculated. The result of his alleged speculation was not merely losses but the alleged decimation of the Trust's corpus -- if you don't know what a corpus is and are unfamiliar with how bad a "decimation" is, just assume that a lot of money was lost.
Claimants were trying to hold Respondent RBC liable based on the theory that the firm had a copy of the Trust and should have known that Dillard's trading exceeded his authorized conduct. Similarly, the Claimants tried to hold Respondent Interactive Brokers liable for failing to stop Dillard's trading. Based solely upon the damages sought, it appears that RBC was purportedly liable for about 1/3 to 1/4 of the overall losses at issue.
A When In Rome SIDE BAR:When the Roman Legions had shown cowardice in battle or one of their ranks engaged in extremely dishonorable conduct, one in every ten soldiers of a Cohort (composed of six Centuries of 80 soldiers, or 480 men) would be picked to step forward (hence the deci-mation) and then executed by the other nine.
RBC Settles Out
Around February 2, 2015, FINRA was notified that the Claimants had reached a settlement with Respondent RBC and that the claims against the firm were dismissed with prejudice. In light of the settlement, the requested expungement was not pursued and, accordingly, not adjudicated by the Panel. We are not told as to the amount paid via that settlement. In any event, the arbitration proceeded to a hearing against Respondent Interactive Brokers.
Bankruptcy
The FINRA Arbitration Decision notes
the following
occurrence:
At the hearing. Claimants' counsel alleged that the trustee, who Claimants were suing in Texas State Court, had declared bankruptcy the previous day and that the case was stayed pending bankruptcy.
Award
The FINRA Arbitration Panel by a vote of 2:1 found
Respondent Interactive Brokers, LLC, liable and ordered the firm to pay to
Claimants $725,779.59 in compensatory damages and $483,853.06 in attorneys'
fees pursuant to the Texas state
law.
The Dissenting Arbitrator published
the following:
Bill Singer's CommentBecause this Award is unsupported by the law or the facts of the case, I must dissent.
Claimants cannot meet their burden of proof, as a matter of law, for any of the three counts of their Second Amended Statement of Claim. A fair review of the Record also establishes that Interactive Broker's affirmative defense as a "protected person" dealing with the Trustee under the Texas Securities Act §114.081 and §114.086 is established as a matter of law.
I am also seriously concerned that improper means were used to sway my fellow panelists. Specifically, near the close of the Final Hearing in this matter, and in an apparent attempt to evoke sympathy, Claimants announced that they had just learned that the Trustee had "declared bankruptcy the previous day" and that the State Court case, which was due to be called for trial the week following the Final Hearing in this arbitration, "was stayed pending bankruptcy." This announcement of the Trustee's bankruptcy filing improperly influenced the panel and prejudiced Respondent Interactive Brokers. There is no other reasonable conclusion given that the Record does not support the Award.