Ex-Merrill Sales Manager Awarded Shares of Bank of America Stock by a FINRA Arbitration Panel

Posted on November 7th, 2017 at 2:07 PM
Ex-Merrill Sales Manager Awarded Shares of Bank of America Stock by a FINRA Arbitration Panel

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

A FINRA panel has ordered Merrill Lynch to pay its former sales manager, Robert Bowman, 21,660 shares of Bank of America stock, which today is currently worth $303,240.

Mr. Bowman left Merrill Lynch in 2014 to join Snowden Capital Advisors, an independent advisory firm in New York founded two years earlier by several of his former colleagues. After he left Merrill Lynch, Mr. Bowman filed a claim against the firm alleging that it still owed him deferred compensation in the form of 50,152 of restricted stock units in Bank of America. Moreover, Mr. Bowen argued that although the shares were not vested at the time of his departure, Merrill Lynch breached its contract and in turn would be unjustly enriched if it did not pay him the shares he was originally owed.

This decision is notable because Merrill Lynch and other firms require brokers to sign employment contracts that seek to prohibit them from transferring unvested deferred compensation when they transition to another firm. The panel did not explain its decision but undoubtedly it will have widespread effects. 

The attorneys of Eccleston Law LLC represent investors and advisors nationwide in securities and employment matters. The securities lawyers at Eccleston Law also practice a variety of other areas of practice for financial advisors including Broker Litigation & ArbitrationStrategic Consulting ServicesRegulatory  MattersTransition Contract Review, and much more. Our attorneys draw on a combined experience of nearly 65 years in delivering the highest quality legal services. If you are in need of legal services, contact us to schedule a one-on-one consultation today.

Related Attorneys: James J. Eccleston

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