SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO CONFIRMS FINRA ARBITRATION AWARD
Following a FINRA arbitration award in favor of defendant Carlos Reisen, plaintiff J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons, LLC (“Hilliard Lyons”) filed a complaint (treated by the court as a motion to vacate) before the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio seeking to vacate the award. Reisen filed a cross motion to confirm the award and to enter judgment in his favor. The Court, applying the Sixth Circuit’s “manifest disregard of the law” test, confirmed the arbitration panel’s determination that Hilliard Lyons had made defamatory statements in its Form U5/Uniform Termination Notice. The Court concluded that it could not vacate the award on the basis that the panel had acted recklessly, as claimed by Hilliard Lyons. Likewise, the Court confirmed the award of attorneys fees and the post-award interest, finding that the panel did not act in manifest disregard of the law because there were statutory bases for the decisions. Hilliard Lyons has since filed a notice of appeal to the Sixth Circuit. Hilliard v. Reisen, Case No. 09-cv-535 (S.D. Ohio Mar. 2, 2010, Mar. 5, 2010).
This post written by John Black.
