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Investor Advocates Call on FINRA to Immediately Stop the Expungement of Customer Complaints - The Public Investor Arbitration Bar Association (known as PIABA) is a nationwide association of attorneys who advocate for investors through litigation and arbitration and regulatory reform. In a report prepared by The PIABA Foundation, titled… ... Read More Investment Adviser Permanently Barred over Conflicts of Interest, Failure to Disclose, and Violation of Best Execution Rules - I previously wrote about the SEC’s increased emphasis on the enforcement of an investment advisor’s obligation to provide its customers with the “best execution” of recommended securities trades. See SEC Announces Results of Share Class… ... Read More
Raleigh Investment Adviser Stephen Condon Peters Sentenced to 40 Years In Prison for Operating a Ponzi Sheme - Stephen Condon Peters, a Raleigh investment advisor, was sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty following a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.… ... Read More State Attorneys General Sue the SEC to Nullify Regulation Best Interest - On September 9, 2019, seven states and the District of Columbia sued the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to invalidate Regulation Best Interest: The Broker-Dealer Standard of Conduct (“Regulation BI”). The Attorneys General of… ... Read More
HHS Office of Civil Rights Settles its First Medical Records Enforcement Case - Earlier this year, the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) announced that it would vigorously enforce the Federal rights of patients to receive their medical records… ... Read More
Fourth Circuit Slaps Reliance Standard in ERISA Disability Case - Reliance Standard never should have terminated Fredrick Smith’s disability benefits. But appealing the District Court’s decision in favor of Mr. Smith was just plain dumb. Good news for claimants, the Fourth Circuit’s opinion in Smith… ... Read More
Whiteman Law Firm Filed a Wage and Hour Suit against The Bruson Group, Inc. and its Controlling Officials - On September 3, 2019, Whiteman Law Firm filed a lawsuit against The Bruson Group, Inc. and two of its controlling officers. The suit was brought on behalf of four former employees who were denied overtime… ... Read More The North Carolina Supreme Court’s Piazza v. Kirkbride Decision Fails to Resolve Important Issues under State Securities Act - On May 10, 2019, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued its opinion in Piazza v. Kirkbride. See Piazza v. Kirkbride, 827 S.E.2d 479 (2019). The Court declined to resolve important issues under the North Carolina… ... Read More The Administrative Exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act - The Administrative Exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act The Fair Labor Standards Act provides that “no employer shall employ any employee any of his employees . . . for a workweek longer than forty… ... Read More
Fourth Circuit Clarifies that an Employer/Plan Administrator/Named Fiduciary is Indeed an ERISA Fiduciary - Fourth Circuit Clarifies that an Employer/Plan Administrator/Named Fiduciary is Indeed an ERISA Fiduciary In the case of Dawson-Murdock v. National Consulting Group, Inc., an employer argued that it was not an ERISA fiduciary of its… ... Read More FINRA Reminds Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers to Comply with the SEC’s “Best Interest” Requirements - FINRA Reminds Broker-Dealers and Investment Advisers to Comply with the SEC’s “Best Interest” Requirements On June 5, 2019, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission issued Release No. 34-86031, titled Regulation Best Interest: The Broker-Dealer… ... Read More
The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act Provides Strong Legal Remedies for Employees - The North Carolina Wage and Hour Act regulates the payment of wages, disclosure of wage payment policies, and forfeiture of wages upon termination of employment. An employer who fails to pay wages when they are… ... Read More The FINRA Arbitration Proceess - The FINRA Arbitration Process Almost all disputes involving securities brokers and their customers are resolved by arbitration under a process administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”). FINRA was created on July 30, 2007,… ... Read More Equal Pay for the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team! - Equal Pay for the U.S. Women's Soccer Team! If you want to know what the U.S. women's national soccer team is complaining about, click here to see the team's federal court complaint against United States… ... Read More Get Private Health Insurance Out of Medicare - Get Private Health Insurance Out of Medicare. Professors Pamela Herd and Donald P. Moynihan of Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy have written in a New York Times op-ed that the involvement of private health insurers in… ... Read More