June 20, 2014 How To Sue ETrade In The FINRA Arbit
Post# of 11038
Like most brokerage firms, E*Trade requires clients who wish to sue it to do so through binding arbitration forum called FINRA. Each year dozens of firm clients sue Etrade for various violations of the federal and state securities laws including for issues like failure to execute a trade, unsuitable investment recommendations, fraud, misrepresentations and omissions, breach of fiduciary duty and other related actions.
A total of 144 FINRA arbitration claims have been filed against ETrade. One recent case handled by our securities law firm against ETrade is illustrative. The Claimant investor accused ETrade of multiple violations of the federal and state securities act, including fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of the Illinois Securities Law of 1953. The actual damages were $125,000 and the FIRNA arbitrators in Chicago ended up awarding $125,000 plus an additional $15,000 in attorney fees. The entire award can be viewed at the following link http://finraawardsonline.finra.org/viewdocume...ocNB=58859
More common of the claims filed against ETrade include sales practices abuses like unsuitable investment recommendations and churning. ETrade has a division in the company that actually makes recommendations to clients even though the firm is known for being a deep discounter for do it yourself investors. Also common of claims filed against the firm are failure to execute cases, where the investor argues the firm didn’t execute trades in a timely manner.
The firm has been the subject of 76 regulatory events. For example, the Attorney General of the State of New York fined the firm $784,537 for various violations of the Martin Act, including the failure to supervise its brokers, in connection with the purchase and sale of action rate securities, In 2013, FINRA Enforcement sued the firm for charging markups on bonds above what was considered fair and reasonable. The firm paid a $30,000 fine.
Below is a video update for clients who are thinking about suing E*Trade through a FINRA arbitration claim, lawsuit or class action lawsuit. To receive a free evaluation by a lawyer on your odds of successfully suing ETrade on a contingency fee basis, please call our legal team in Chicago at 312.332.4200