FINRA Orders UBS to Pay Over $11 Million in Defamation Case

Posted on December 17th, 2019 at 2:54 PM
FINRA Orders UBS to Pay Over $11 Million in Defamation Case

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law LLC:

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) ordered UBS Financial Services Inc. to pay more than $11 million to a former supervisor who claimed the firm defamed him in explaining his departure.

According to a recent InvestmentNews article, Mark Munizzi was working as a market operations supervisor in the UBS Chicago office in February of 2018 when two accounts he was overseeing lost value during a steep market drop. UBS fired Munizzi in April 2018, asserting that he failed to take heed when notified that there were margin calls on the accounts. Munizzi argued that he did not receive any such notifications from UBS.

FINRA found UBS liable and ordered that the explanation of Munizzi’s departure on his Form U5 be amended to “terminated without cause.” FINRA also awarded Munizzi $3,149,656 in compensatory damanges, $7,500,000 in punitive damages, $496,753 in attorneys’ fees, and $24,381 in costs.

UBS was also ordered to pay interest on $112,500 of the compensatory damages as severance pay.

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 investors and advisors including Securities FraudCompliance ProtectionBreach of Fiduciary DutyFINRA Matters, 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

Tags: james eccleston, eccleston law, eccleston law llc, eccleston, ubs, chicago, finra, defamation lawsuit, mark munizzi

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