Memphis, Tennessee – February 2021
Niel Prosser of The Prosser Law Firm announced today that Clients of the Firm had reached a $6.8 million settlement with Morgan Stanley and its Knoxville based broker, Frank Venable. The case was tried for two weeks in February of 2020, but did not finish. The settlement was reached shortly before the arbitration was scheduled to resume the following January. It has now been formally disclosed on Mr. Venable’s BrokerCheck Report. (A copy of which can be found at this link.) The Firm’s Clients in this FINRA arbitration – a senior investor couple – had previously lived in Knoxville but were residents of Florida at the time the Arbitration was brought.
The Arbitration filing alleged claims of breach of fiduciary duty, elder exploitation, fraud, and failure to supervise. The Clients sued for damages in excess of $7,000,000, which were largely comprised of “well managed damages” (the difference in how an investor’s accounts actually performed versus how they should have performed under prudent management). While the Arbitration was pending Mr. Venable was sanctioned, both by FINRA and the State of Tennessee. FINRA assessed a 10-day suspension and $5,000 fine against Mr. Venable, while the Tennessee regulators imposed a $1,000 fine—both for improperly assuming discretion in the clients’ accounts. (The FINRA sanction can be found at this link and the State of Tennessee sanction can be found at this link.)
Investors with concerns about how their Morgan Stanley accounts have been handled are encouraged to contact the attorneys at PCJ Law at (901) 820-4433 or by email at np@prosserlaw.com.
Based in Memphis, Tennessee, PCJ Law specializes in litigation in the financial services industry, representing a full spectrum of clients including investors, financial advisors, and brokerage/investment advisory firms. This case was primarily handled by the partner of the firm –Niel Prosser, Rob Clapper and Kyle Johnson. For more information see www.prosserlaw.com.