February 2, 2016 - David Cosgrove and Luke Baumstark won another victory in the U-5 defamation arena. Cosgrove Law Group filed a claim against US Bancorp Investments in 2015. The Statement of Claim included claims for, among other things, the filing of a defamatory U-5 termination report, as well as interfering with potential client referrals.
The financial adviser/client was terminated from US Bancorp Investments in October, 2014. US Bancorp Investments subsequently submitted language on his Form U-5 that was inaccurate and caused him financial and professional damage. US Bancorp Investments filed a counterclaim alleging that the adviser violated a non-solicitation agreement.
After 8 days of arbitration, a FINRA Panel agreed that the U-5 was defamatory, awarding our client with revised U-5 language and a $100,000 Award. The Panel also rejected US Bancorp Investment’s counterclaim for breach of contract.
Unfortunately, the road to rectifying defamatory U-5 filings is long and many brokers and advisers don’t realize they even have this option available. If a former employer has used the U-5 as a weapon by filing defamatory language about you or someone you know, please contact our firm to see if we are able to assist you in cleaning up your U-4 and obtaining fair compensation.