The arbitration underlying a suit challenging a FINRA Panel’s authority to hold a virtual hearing over a broker’s objection has been awarded. We reported last summer on Legaspy v. FINRA, No. 1:20-cv-04700, which was filed August 11 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, alleging breach of contract because the FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure doesn’t expressly…
For the second time in the past few months, SEC Chair Gensler was asked to articulate his views on mandatory securities arbitration, this time at a House Financial Services Committee meeting. As reported in SAAs 2021-13 (Apr. 5), -10 (Mar. 18), & -08 (Mar. 4), new SEC Chair Gary Gensler said at his March 2 Senate Banking Committee confirmation hearing that…
Independence Day 2021 will be ushered in with a bang for FINRA Dispute Resolution Services (“DRS”) constituents yearning for a return to in-person arbitration and mediation hearings. The Authority updated its Webpage around noon Eastern time today (May 10) to reflect that in-person hearings will resume in most hearing locations on July 5. The Website now says: “Beginning July 5,…
FINRA has issued a Regulatory Notice reminding industry parties on the proper use of predispute arbitration agreements (“PDAA”) in customer account agreements. Regulatory Notice 21-16, FINRA Reminds Members About Requirements When Using Predispute Arbitration Agreements for Customer Accounts, was issued on April 21. Why issue the Notice? “FINRA has become aware that customer agreements used by some…
The COVID-19 pandemic hit all Americans in many ways, and the legal and alternative dispute resolution systems were no exceptions. About a year ago the Alert surveyed the major national ADR institutions to gather information on how they were coping. With the vaccination program well under way, we thought it was a good time to check back in,…