In February 2012, Sandra Grannum won a $1.2 million award from a Panel of FINRA arbitrators. Ms. Grannum successfully represented a FINRA Member Claimant in a seven day hearing in an industry dispute in a FINRA arbitration hearing. Her client was successful in its claims for breach of contract and violation of FINRA Rule 2110 ("A member, in the conduct of his business, shall observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade").
Davidson & Grannum, LLP announces that Joel E. Davidson, its founding partner, will retire from the Firm as of January 1, 2012. Our beloved Partner has been the guiding light for the vision of the Firm from the start. A vision that will be continued after his retirement. He leaves the Firm to pursue in earnest his other interests, continuing teaching at Fordham Law School, and developing and contributing to alternative dispute resolutions methods and forums both here and abroad. We thank Joel for his time, effort and vision and wish him the best in all his future endeavors.
Joel Davidson successfully defended a case brought by the SEC in Federal Court in NJ.
In July, 2011, the firm obtained a favorable trial verdict on behalf of the proponent of a 1966 Will in Surrogate's Court, New York County. (In re the Will of Luba Dramska)
SANDRA GRANNUM, along with Candis Clark were recently published in the ABA Section of Litigation, Securities Litigation Journal, Spring 2011 issue. The Article "Recent Development in FINRA Arbitrator Selection" appeared on pages 1-4 of the ABA Journal.
In December, 2010, Carlos Ricca obtained an order denying a motion to stay an arbitration and was successful in opposing an appeal from the order. In May 2011, by unanimous decision, the Appellate Division, First Department, affirmed the decision below and refused to grant an injunction staying the arbitration." See Gemini Real Estate Advisors, LLC, et al. vs. Byron Realty I Corporation
CARLOS RICCA, successfully defended an appeal before the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, First Department, in a unanimous judgment, an appellate panel of five judges affirmed the lower court's decision to deny the Petitioners' request for a stay of arbitration, holding that a letter by Petitioners to the arbitrator requesting that he reopen the proceedings in order that they may present arguments on the merits, and which was sent prior to any motion to the court for relief, constituted participation in the arbitration that precludes the grant of a stay pursuant to CPLR Section 7503 (b) and relevant case law on the issue.
JOEL DAVIDSON In March 2011, Joel Davidson successfully represented a registered representative in a disciplinary proceeding. The RR refused to settle a matter by consenting to a suspension. A hearing panel agreed that a suspension was not warranted. See, Department of Enforcement v. Feddy A. Medina, FINRA Proceeding No. 2009016551301.
Joel successfully defended a case brought by the SEC in Federal Court in New Jersey. After a 14 day bench trial, the Court dismissed the SEC's complaint which alleged fraud, frontrunning and excessive mark-ups on institutional trades. See, SEC v. Pasternak, 2008 WL 2501355 (D.N.J. June 24, 2008). Joel also was on a Panel at the ABA's Annual Meeting in Chicago in August 2009. The topic was "Mediation: The Seven Deadly Sins."
On March 3, 2010, the National Adjudicatory Council of FINRA reversed a Hearing Panel's findings against John Leighton and Kenneth Pasternak, and the sanctions that had been imposed against each of them, in a 68 page decision, in Matter of Department of Market Regulation v. John Patrick Leighton and Kenneth D. Pasternak. Mr. Leighton was represented by Joel E. Davidson at the FINRA hearing and on the appeal.
http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2010/P121042
SANDRA GRANNUM was a member of the faculty of the Securities Arbitration & Mediation Hot Topics 2011. "The" Program for Attorneys, In-House Counsel, Experts, Arbitrators & Mediators, June 8, 2011. Moderator for "Fiduciary Duties and Dodd Frank Update: Broker Dealer and Investment Advisor Issues" and "Should the Broker by Sued? CRD and Other Issues".
In March 2011, she was a member of the Employment Law Panel of the SIFMA Compliance and Legal Division Meeting.
Ms. Grannum will also be on the faculty of the upcoming Practicing Law Institute August program "Securities Arbitration 2011". The program is designed for advocates, arbitrators, mediators and regulators and will review how competing forces changed the landscape of securities arbitration in the past year. The program will address the overhaul of regulation of financial institutions and proposed elimination of mandatory arbitration for consumer and securities disputes, FINRA revisions to key arbitration rules and practices to counter relentless scrutiny of the fairness of its forum, and the Supreme Court reaffirmance of a strong national policy favoring arbitration. Find out more about what is sure to be an exciting and informative program at: http://www.pli.edu/re.aspx?pk=28372&t=HCF1_1SECA.
Ms. Grannum was successful in obtaining a motion for summary judgment in the Northern District of New York dismissing claims of age discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation brought by a current employee who was unsuccessful in his bid for a senior position at his company. The Court held that the company successfully sustained its burden of establishing a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for its employment decision by its reliance on its behavioral-based interviewing model for determining who should be appointed to senior positions after mergers. The Court held that the employee failed to provide evidence that the company's claimed reliance on this process was pretextual. The Court also held that employee had failed to establish intentional spoilage of the evidence by company, notwithstanding the company's inability to produce certain interview files. The EEOC only required the company keep such documents for 1 year and employee's claims were not filed for 3 years. The Court held that the employee failed to establish a hostile work environment as he failed to establish age discrimination. The Court also found that the employee failed to establish a prima facie case for wrongful retaliation because he did not show that he was engaged in a protected activity as he never complained he was the victim of age discrimination. See the full case William Bobo v. Wachovia Securities, LLC, No. 1:07-CV-01056 (FEK/RFT), 2010 WL 1186455 ( N.D.N.Y. March 23, 2010) also available at http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4188192776240959194&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
CANDIS CLARK was a member of the faculty for the "Ethics in Employment Law" Seminar of the New York City Bar Association on June 1, 2011. This panel of experts, including Candis, examined a wide range of issues including those related to class actions, discovery, social media, investigations, confidentiality, and settlement agreements. The program was designed for both experienced practitioners and those new to the field of employment law.
Recent articles by Sandra Grannum, include; "The Dodd-Frank Act and its effect on the Fiduciary Duty Requirements for Brokers, Dealers and Investment Advisers" for New York City Bar Association June 2011; "Litigating Arbitrations in the FINRA Forum" for the PLI Securities Arbitration 2011. "Recent Developments in FINRA Arbitrator Selection", for ABA Securities Journal 2011. "Recent Developments in Wage & Hour Class Action Litigations" published by SIFMA for its 2011 Annual Conference. "Employment Law Class Action Cases" published by SIFMA for its 2010 Annual Conference. "The Evolution of Arbitrator Selection in the FINRA Forum: for the PLI Securities Arbitration 2010. "The Standard for Employee Claims of Retaliation in the Wake of Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Sheila White" published by SIFMA for its 2009 Annual Compliance and Legal Service Court Material; "The Faith and Face of Securities Arbitration: After the 2008 Crash" published by the Practicing Law Institute ("PLI") for its 2009 Securities Arbitration in the Market Meltdown Era: Achieving Fairness in Perception and Reality - Volume One; "Arbitrator Selection in FINRA Arbitrations: An Ever Changing Process with an Uncertain Faith for the Industry Arbitrator" published by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for the Securities Arbitration & Mediation 2009; "U-5 Defamation in New York" published by SIFMA for its 2008 Annual Compliance and Legal Service Course Material; "Expungement Developments" published by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in June 2007 for it Handbook for Securities Arbitration & Mediation Hot Topics 2007; "Recent Developments In the Law of Vacation" published in the August 2007 Handbook on Securities Arbitration 2007 by Practicing Law Institute ("PLI").
JOEL DAVIDSON successfully defended a case brought by the SEC in Federal Court in New Jersey. After a 14 day bench trial, the Court dismissed the SEC's complaint which alleged fraud, frontrunning and excessive mark-ups on institutional trades. See, SEC v. Pasternak, 2008 WL 2501355 (D.N.J. June 24, 2008). Joel also was on a Panel at the ABA's Annual Meeting in Chicago in August 2009. The topic was "Mediation: The Seven Deadly Sins." Joel has been a member of AMEX since 1977.
On March 3, 2010, the National Adjudicatory Council of FINRA reversed a Hearing Panel's findings against John Leighton and Kenneth Pasternak, and the sanctions that had been imposed against each of them, in a 68 page decision, in Matter of Department of Market Regulation v. John Patrick Leighton and Kenneth D. Pasternak. Mr. Leighton was represented by Joel E. Davidson at the FINRA hearing and on the appeal.
http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2010/P121042
SANDRA GRANNUM was a member of the Employment Law Panel of the SIFMA Compliance and Legal Division Meeting in May 2010.
Ms. Grannum will be on the faculty of the upcoming Practicing Law Institute August program "Securities Arbitration 2010". The program is designed for advocates, arbitrators, mediators and regulators and will review how competing forces changed the landscape of securities arbitration in the past year. The program will address the overhaul of regulation of financial institutions and proposed elimination of mandatory arbitration for consumer and securities disputes, FINRA revisions to key arbitration rules and practices to counter relentless scrutiny of the fairness of its forum, and the Supreme Court reaffirmance of a strong national policy favoring arbitration. Find out more about what is sure to be an exciting and informative program at http://www.pli.edu/product/seminar_detail.asp?id=79386&t=DAT0_SECAB
Ms. Grannum was successful in obtaining a motion for summary judgment in the Northern District of New York dismissing claims of age discrimination, hostile work environment, and retaliation brought by a current employee who was unsuccessful in his bid for a senior position at his company. The Court held that the company successfully sustained its burden of establishing a legitimate non-discriminatory reason for its employment decision by its reliance on its behavioral-based interviewing model for determining who should be appointed to senior positions after mergers. The Court held that the employee failed to provide evidence that the company's claimed reliance on this process was pretextual. The Court also held that employee had failed to establish intentional spoilage of the evidence by company, notwithstanding the company's inability to produce certain interview files. The EEOC only required the company keep such documents for 1 year and employee's claims were not filed for 3 years. The Court held that the employee failed to establish a hostile work environment as he failed to establish age discrimination. The Court also found that the employee failed to establish a prima facie case for wrongful retaliation because he did not show that he was engaged in a protected activity as he never complained he was the victim of age discrimination. See the full case William Bobo v. Wachovia Securities, LLC, No. 1:07-CV-01056 (FEK/RFT), 2010 WL 1186455 ( N.D.N.Y. March 23, 2010) also available at http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=4188192776240959194&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr
CARLOS RICCA, former Senior Vice President and Senior Litigation Counsel at Wachovia Securities, is now a Partner of Davidson & Grannum.
JOSEPH GENERELLI has been admitted to practice in the State of Connecticut.
Recent articles by Sandra Grannum, include; "The Standard for Employee Claims of Retaliation in the Wake of Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Sheila White" published by SIFMA for its 2009 Annual Compliance and Legal Service Court Material; "The Faith and Face of Securities Arbitration: After the 2008 Crash" published by the Practicing Law Institute ("PLI") for its 2009 Securities Arbitration in the Market Meltdown Era: Achieving Fairness in Perception and Reality - Volume One; "Arbitrator Selection in FINRA Arbitrations: An Ever Changing Process with an Uncertain Faith for the Industry Arbitrator" published by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York for the Securities Arbitration & Mediation 2009; "U-5 Defamation in New York" published by SIFMA for its 2008 Annual Compliance and Legal Service Course Material; "Expungement Developments" published by the Association of the Bar of the City of New York in June 2007 for it Handbook for Securities Arbitration & Mediation Hot Topics 2007; "Recent Developments In the Law of Vacation" published in the August 2007 Handbook on Securities Arbitration 2007 by Practicing Law Institute ("PLI").
