We served as counsel for a financial institution in a nine-day FINRA arbitration hearing

Davis Polk recently secured a complete victory for a clearing firm and financial institution subsidiary in a FINRA arbitration matter brought by a former customer.

The claimant, an investment firm that had engaged in short selling of the stock of companies that were later the subject of merger litigation settlements, filed claims against our client (and two other respondent brokers) when it was debited in connection with one litigation settlement. Our client filed counterclaims demanding payment in connection with two other merger litigation settlements. Following a nine-day hearing in Florida earlier this year, the FINRA panel ruled in the respondents’ favor in all respects, in a complete victory for our client. The arbitrators rejected all of the claims brought against our client and awarded the company both the full amount of compensatory damages it requested for its counterclaims and the full amount it requested in attorneys’ fees and costs.

The Davis Polk team, based in the New York office, consisted of senior counsel Lawrence Portnoy, partner James I. McClammy and associates Marie Killmond and Christopher Johnson.