Tr?id=566623520170033&ev=PageView&noscript=1

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
Quotes Bigger

I want to extend a tremendous thank you for your dedication, professionalism, hard work and patient demeanor through this challenging time. It was enjoyable interacting with everyone on your team, this certainly helped while dealing with the situation and working towards resolution.

Dan M.

LATEST NEWS AND ARTICLES

1782744905 Law
June 29, 2026
Former Arvest Wealth Representative Sanctioned by FINRA Over Improper Use of Mistaken Commission Payment

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has suspended former Arvest Wealth representative Brandon Still for 18 months and fined him $5,000 after determining that he improperly used firm funds that were mistakenly deposited into his account.

1782497406 Law
June 26, 2026
FINRA Seeks to Make Remote Inspection Program Permanent

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is seeking approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to make its pandemic-era remote inspections program permanent before the current pilot is scheduled to expire in June 2027, according to AdvisorHub and FINRA's summary of its recent Board of Governors meeting.

1782400213 Law
June 25, 2026
SEC Alleges Illinois Investment Adviser Misappropriated Investor Funds and Concealed Losses

According to a litigation release published on SEC.gov, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged John Sterling Myers and his firms, Sterling Capital, LLC and Sterling Capital Management, LLC, with orchestrating a multi-year fraud involving investor funds held in a pooled investment vehicle.