Judge Vacates Arbitration Award, Condemning Wells Fargo, Attorney and FINRA

Posted on February 8th, 2022 at 2:42 PM
Judge Vacates Arbitration Award, Condemning Wells Fargo, Attorney and FINRA

From the Desk of Jim Eccleston at Eccleston Law: 

A Georgia Superior Court judge has vacated an arbitration award that Wells Fargo had obtained nearly 3 years ago involving a client who sued the firm for mismanaging his account and, in doing so, has rocked the industry with sweeping, serious allegations of misconduct and conspiracy. 

Along with dismissing the July 2019 decision in which Wells Fargo had prevailed, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Belinda Edwards criticized the process of arbitration selection by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) when it came to one lawyer representing Wells Fargo, Terry Weiss. 

Any alteration to the selection process would violate industry rules and deviate from the decades-old protocol that requires a computer-generated list to select neutral panelists. Judge Edward scrutinized the FINRA arbitration system and its potential to employ impartial arbitrator panels, who ultimately determine whether the broker-dealer or investor should prevail. 

Specifically, Brian Leggett filed a FINRA arbitration claim against Wells Fargo alleging that the firm failed to sufficiently monitor and supervise two advisors who mismanaged his account.  Leggett lost his claim in 2019 as three FINRA arbitrators denied the allegations against Wells Fargo. An appeal followed. After reversing Wells Fargo’s victory, Judge Edwards scrutinized FINRA, Wells Fargo and its attorney Terry Weiss for permitting manipulation of the choice of arbitrators that ultimately would favor the brokerage firm over the client. According to the court order, FINRA permitted Weiss to alter FINRA’s “neutral list” of arbitrators in the Leggett case, which unfairly tipped the scale of justice. 

The industry is in an uproar. Significant ethical, regulatory, civil and perhaps even criminal issues face Weiss, Wells Fargo and those individuals at FINRA who negligently or knowingly participated in this scheme. 

Eccleston Law LLC represents investors and financial advisors nationwide in securities, employment, regulatory and disciplinary matters.

Tags: eccleston, eccleston law, arbitration, wells fargo, finra

Return to Archive

TESTIMONIALS

Previous
Next

Thank you for your professional assistance with this matter. You are very good at what you do.

John T.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

November 7, 2025
FINRA Suspends Former Wells Fargo Broker Over Unapproved Real Estate Venture

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) suspended former Wells Fargo broker George J. Cairnes for four months and fined him $25,000 for engaging in unapproved real estate outside business activity, according to a settlement letter issued.

November 6, 2025
Former Ameriprise Broker Ordered to Pay $2.2 Million for Elder Exploitation

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) arbitration panel has ordered Eric A. Dupre to pay nearly $2.2 million in damages to his former firm and two customers following allegations of theft and elder exploitation.

November 5, 2025
Former Wells Fargo Representative Suspended for Unauthorized Texting and Obstruction

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Wells Fargo representative Eyan M. Townsend for one year and fined him $10,000 for using personal text messages to conduct business and attempting to obstruct an internal investigation by deleting those communications.