J.P. Morgan Ordered To Pay $1.4 Million To Advisor In Defamation Case
From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law:
A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered J.P. Morgan to pay $1.4 million to a former advisor who alleged defamation following his termination nearly five years ago.
The former J.P. Morgan advisor, Dustin Luckett, alleged that the firm filed a defamatory Uniform Termination Notice (Form U5) after he was fired in 2017. According to the award, Luckett alleged invasion of privacy as well as tortious interference with prospective business expectancies. While firms are required to submit registration records upon an advisor’s employment termination, many in the industry contend that firms take advantage of the filing system to harm an advisor’s reputation and seize his/her client accounts.
Luckett was terminated after allegedly asking another employee to notarize a document without the client being present, according to BrokerCheck. J.P. Morgan also alleged that Luckett “engaged in conduct it deemed inconsistent with its anti-retaliation policies.”
The FINRA arbitration panel awarded damages and additionally recommended that J.P. Morgan expunge (revise) the terms of Luckett’s employment history to illustrate that the dispute was solely over the clerical process of notarizing.
Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.
Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, JP Morgan, finra