JPMorgan Chase & Co. is going to federal court to challenge an arbitration award that went in favor of a former broker, according to AdvisorHub.
In May, a panel of two public and one non-public Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitrators ordered J.P. Morgan to pay $4.25 million to Brent R. Bodner over his wrongful termination claim.
Bodner alleged that he had been unjustly terminated in June 2024 for billing the company for a $642.50 platter of sandwiches for a 2024 Super Bowl gathering at his home. J.P. Morgan claimed that he submitted an inaccurate reimbursement request for the platter and that he had misrepresented the personal event as client-related at a restaurant.
Bodner sought $30 million in compensatory and punitive damages to “punish [J.P. Morgan] for its deliberately damaging actions and claims and to deter it and others from repeating this form of behavior in the future.”.
In addition to awarding Bodner the $4.25 million in damages, the FINRA arbitrators ruled he could expunge from his record the termination notice on his public record, which he alleged was defamatory. The reason for leaving J.P. Morgan was permitted to be changed to “voluntary.”
But in a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, J.P. Morgan argued that the arbitration award should be vacated. The firm contends the arbitrators exceeded their authority by awarding damages that were “wholly untethered to any evidence or testimony.” J.P. Morgan contends the award showed “manifest disregard” of the law and the facts presented during the arbitration.
“JPMS openly and repeatedly explained to the panel why applicable law and uncontroverted facts undermined each of Bodner’s three claims, and Bodner made no effective rebuttal,” J.P. Morgan wrote in the filing. “The arbitrators were thus aware of applicable law but nevertheless ignored it, opting instead to impose their own preferred outcome.”
Though the company alleged the platter was served at a personal Super Bowl party, Bodner claimed it was actually purchased for a “pre-approved business meeting” held at his home and that his assistant had sought approval for the food order in advance.
Bodner maintained that the key attendees had been pre-approved and that the inaccuracies were inadvertent.
Bodner’s attorney, Marc Seldin Rosen of Baltimore, said he looks forward to “presenting Mr. Bodner’s position to the U.S. District Court, as this will afford us an opportunity to fully expose JPM Securities’ outrageous treatment of an outstanding financial advisor.”
“Pretextual terminations that tarnish careers of honest employees is never permissible,” Rosen added. “The Arbitrators saw and heard all of the evidence, and JPM’s desperate appeal will validate the outcome.”
A J.P. Morgan spokesperson declined to comment beyond the court filing.
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