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On November 6, 2018, Nicolas Finn, a former Credit Suisse investment adviser represented by Lax & Neville LLP, won a FINRA arbitration award against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for unpaid deferred compensation. On November 27, 2018, Credit Suisse petitioned the New York Supreme Court (Commercial Division) to vacate the Finn Award on grounds of arbitrator misconduct and manifest disregard of the law. See Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC v. Nicholas B. Finn, CV 655870/2018. The Honorable Judge Jennifer Schecter, by order dated April 24, 2019, denied the Petition to Vacate in its entirety and entered judgment for Mr. Finn.

Credit Suisse is currently being sued by dozens of its former investment advisers in connection with the 2015 closure of its US private bank. Four FINRA Panels have issued awards thus far, all of them finding Credit Suisse terminated its advisers without cause and ordering it to pay deferred compensation. This is the first time a court has heard Credit Suisse’s defenses to the Credit Suisse Deferred Compensation Arbitrations.

Credit Suisse contended that the Finn Panel acted in manifest disregard of the law on two issues. First, Credit Suisse argued that Mr. Finn resigned as a matter of law when he left Credit Suisse on November 23, 2015, a month after Credit Suisse announced it was closing its private bank. Under the terms of Credit Suisse’s contracts with its investment advisers, deferred compensation is cancelled immediately upon voluntary resignation but vests immediately upon termination without cause. The evidence at arbitration overwhelmingly established that Credit Suisse both structured the closure of the private bank and deliberately concealed and misrepresented material information in order to mischaracterize its advisers as having “resigned” after they were given no option but to leave Credit Suisse. It then cancelled more than 95% of its advisers’ deferred compensation, amounting to almost $200 million. The Finn Panel rejected Credit Suisse’s argument that Mr. Finn resigned voluntarily and ordered expungement of “Voluntary” termination from his Form U-5. The Panel recommended that the Form U-5 be amended to state that the reason for termination was “Termination Without Cause.”

On November 6, 2018, a former Credit Suisse investment adviser represented by Lax & Neville LLP, a leading securities and employment law firm, won a FINRA arbitration award against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for unpaid deferred compensation.  This is the second FINRA Award against Credit Suisse for unpaid deferred compensation. 

The claimant, Nicholas Finn, was an adviser in Credit Suisse’s New York US private banking division (“PBUSA”) and was terminated when Credit Suisse closed PBUSA.  Credit Suisse took the position, as it has with hundreds of other former investment advisers, that Mr. Finn voluntarily resigned and forfeited his deferred compensation.  A three arbitrator panel determined that Credit Suisse terminated Mr. Finn without cause and awarded him all of his compensatory damages in the amount of $975,530, which included all of his deferred compensation awards valued as of November 23, 2015, the day he left Credit Suisse, and his 2015 deferred compensation.  The Panel ordered Credit Suisse to pay 100% of the FINRA forum fees, totaling $27,300, and recommended expungement of Mr. Finn’s Form U-5, the termination notice a broker-dealer is required to file with FINRA.  As with Mr. Finn’s colleagues, Credit Suisse falsely reported that Mr. Finn’s “Reason for Termination” was “Voluntary,” i.e. that Mr. Finn resigned.  The Panel recommended that the “Reason for Termination” be changed to “terminated without cause.”   The Panel also denied Credit Suisse’s counterclaims.  To view this Award, Nicholas Finn v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, FINRA Case No. 17-01277 

Credit Suisse raised a mitigation defense based upon compensation Mr. Finn received or may receive from his current employer, UBS Financial Services Inc.  Like the Panel in Brian Chilton v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, FINRA Case No. 16-03065, the Finn Panel  rejected Credit Suisse’s mitigation defense when it awarded Mr. Finn all of his Credit Suisse deferred compensation.

On October 10, 2018, a former Credit Suisse investment adviser represented by Lax & Neville LLP, a leading securities and employment law firm, won a FINRA arbitration award against Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC for unpaid deferred compensation.  The claimant, Brian Chilton, was an adviser in Credit Suisse’s US private banking division (“PBUSA”) and was terminated when Credit Suisse closed PBUSA.  As it did with hundreds of his colleagues, Credit Suisse took the position that Mr. Chilton voluntarily resigned and forfeited his deferred compensation.  A highly sophisticated and experienced three arbitrator panel determined that Credit Suisse terminated Mr. Chilton without cause and awarded him all of his deferred compensation, consisting of 39,980 shares of Credit Suisse AG valued as of the date of his termination at $585,307.20.  The Panel ordered Credit Suisse to pay interest of $131,694.12, attorneys’ fees of $146,326.80, and 100% of the FINRA forum fees, totaling $69,750.00.  The Panel also recommended expungement of Mr. Chilton’s Form U-5, the termination notice a broker-dealer is required to file with FINRA.  Credit Suisse had falsely reported that Mr. Chilton’s “Reason for Termination” was “Voluntary,” i.e. that Mr. Chilton resigned.  The Panel recommended that the “Reason for Termination” be changed to “terminated without cause.”  To view this Award, Brian Chilton v. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, FINRA Case No. 16-03065.

Credit Suisse announced it was closing PBUSA on October 20, 2015.  Dozens of its former advisers have subsequently filed FINRA Arbitration claims for their unpaid deferred compensation.  The claims are based upon unambiguous language in Credit Suisse’s contracts providing that deferred compensation awards vest immediately upon termination without cause.  In a transparent attempt to evade its deferred compensation liabilities, which amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars, Credit Suisse deliberately mischaracterized its advisers’ terminations as voluntary resignations, notwithstanding that it had announced it was closing PBUSA, told its employees, including the advisers, to find someplace else to work and told its clients to close their accounts.  In its Form U-5 filings, Credit Suisse misrepresented to its regulator that the advisers had voluntarily resigned.

The Chilton Panel was the first to reach a decision on this issue and found that Mr. Chilton’s Form U-5 filing was false and should be changed to termination without cause.  Under the unambiguous terms of Credit Suisse’s contracts, Mr. Chilton was therefore entitled to his deferred compensation.

On March 7, 2016, Lax & Neville LLP, together with a number of other concerned law firms, submitted a letter to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) urging it to take action in light of Credit Suisse’s repeated violations.  In particular, the letter sought to address Credit Suisse’s current Employment Dispute Resolution Program (EDRP), which prevents employees from exercising their right to resolve disputes through FINRA arbitrations.  A second letter was sent to FINRA on July 19, 2016.

On July 22, 2016, FINRA released a Regulatory Notice addressing “Forum Selection Provisions Involving Customers, Associated Persons and Member Firms.”  Therein, FINRA stated that it “considers actions by member firms that require associated persons to waive their right under the Industry Code to arbitration of disputes at FINRA in a predispute agreement as a violation of FINRA Rule 13200 and as conduct inconsistent with just and equitable principles of trade and a violation of FINRA Rule 2010 (Standards of Commercial Honor and Principles of Trade).”  FINRA further noted, “a member firm cannot use an existing non-compliant agreement as a basis to deny an associated person the right to FINRA arbitration as specified in FINRA rules, without violating FINRA rules.”   Accordingly, FINRA has determined that the EDRP, which Credit Suisse has insisted its employees follow, violates FINRA rules and cannot be relied upon in resolving disputes with Credit Suisse.

The Regulatory Notice further noted that FINRA has a statutory obligation to enforce compliance by member firms and warned that “[m]ember firms with provisions in predispute agreements that do not comply with FINRA rules may be subject to disciplinary action.” Specifically, “FINRA may sanction its members or associated persons for violating any of its rules by ‘expulsion, suspension, limitation of activities, functions, and operations, fine,  ensure, being suspended or barred from being associated with a member, or any other fitting sanction.’”  In light of this, FINRA recommends that member firms review their predispute agreements to ensure compliance.

Lax & Neville LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors regarding possible misconduct in connection with UBS Financial Services, Inc.’s (“UBS”) sale and marketing of the UBS Willow Fund LLC (“UBS Willow Fund”). UBS recommended the Willow Fund to its investors as a distressed debt fund. In actuality, contrary to the representations made by UBS, the Willow Fund deviated from that investment strategy, and instead invested in speculative sovereign debt credit default swaps (“CDS”). The Willow Fund’s investment in sovereign debt CDS was much riskier and speculative than the investment strategy that UBS disclosed to its customers. Therefore, UBS customers were never informed of the true nature of the Willow Fund’s investment strategy. Due to this undisclosed strategy, the Willow Fund’s value and worth drastically declined, causing investors to suffer significant losses, which could be as high as 70%.

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Lax & Neville LLP has been retained by several investors who lost money in the Aravali Fund claiming it was inappropriately sold by Deutsche Bank Securities and other brokerage firms in 2006 and 2007. The Aravali Fund was sold to investors who were seeking income and safety of principal as an alternative to a portfolio of municipal bonds. In reality, the Aravali Fund was a very risky interest rate arbitrage hedge fund, and not long after inception, the fund plummeted in excess of 90% in value and was liquidated. A large FINRA arbitration award was rendered against Deutsche Bank for sales practice abuses concerning the selling and marketing of the Aravali Fund. The FINRA arbitration panel found Deutsche Bank liable for the investor’s losses in the amount $803,850, which appears to represent about half of the client’s investment loss in the Aravali Fund. Lax & Neville has been successful in obtaining significant settlements for its clients who invested in the Aravali Fund. Investors only have (6) six years from when they purchased the Aravali Fund to file a claim. Once the (6) six years have elapsed, an investor’s claim is no longer eligible for submission to FINRA arbitration. If you have lost money investing in the Aravali Fund or have information about Deutsche Bank’s marketing of the Aravali Fund, please call Lax & Neville LLP, (212) 696-1999.

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