April 16, 2009
My name is Adam Gana and I have been handling securities arbitrations for 4 years. In addition, I am a former law clerk to the Honorable Alan C. Kay for the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii.
Under current rules, an arbitration claim brought against a firm that does not also name the individual broker as a Respondent is not considered a written complaint against that broker, and is not reported. That "exception" to reporting exists even if the broker's name appears prominently in the text of the arbitration complaint.
Many attorneys, often do not separately name individual brokers because it is unnecessary (given the rule of Respondeat Superior).
It is essential a very positive step that FINRA REQUIRE brokers to disclose any and all actions where they were named in the Statement of Claim. Once repaired, the system will produce more fair results.
As Adam J. Gana
Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP
350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7413
New York, NY 10118