The United States Supreme Court has ruled against a former Wells Fargo Advisors broker who was attempting to overturn an arbitration award, AdvisorHub reports.
The nation’s highest court denied Christopher Caputo’s request for a hearing in the case of a $1.6 million award won by Wells Fargo against him in a dispute over promissory notes.
Caputo was fired by Wells Fargo in 2015 after the company expressed concerns over his recommendations that customers change from one long term product to another. The company then filed a claim with FINRA to recover the amount due in promissory notes. Caputo filed a counter-claim requesting at least $1 million in compensatory damages, $5 million in reputational damages, and expungement of Wells Fargo’s allegations in terminating him.
A panel of FINRA arbitrators sided with the company in July 2019 and ordered Caputo to pay $1,663, 529 plus interest.
Caputo took his case to federal and appellate courts in an unsuccessful attempt to have the arbitration award vacated. He then filed a petition with the Supreme Court asking for a hearing to request that the award be overturned and that Wells Fargo pay him deferred compensation.
Caputo contended that the FINRA arbitrators had disregarded public policy and state laws in ruling that he should not be paid deferred compensation, which he said would offset the money he owed.
The attorneys at Hyman Cotter PC have handled thousands of promissory note matters for some of the largest financial services firms in the world, as well as on behalf of registered representatives. In this capacity, we have handled claims before FINRA, AAA and JAMS arbitration panels in contested and protracted hearings. If you need guidance on matters related to promissory or forgivable notes, contact Hyman Cotter PC at 312-291-4600 or through our online contact form for a free consultation.
