A Georgia appeals court has reversed the decision by a judge issued in January that Wells Fargo and its counsel "manipulated" the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's arbitrator selection process.
Judge Belinda Edwards of the Georgia 5th Superior Court District Atlanta Circuit ruled earlier this year that Wells Fargo and its counsel "manipulated" FINRA's arbitrator selection process and violated the FINRA Code of Arbitration Procedure, denying investors their contractual right to a neutral, computer-generated list of potential arbitrators.
But the appeals court stated in its Aug. 2 decision: "Nothing indicates that Wells Fargo manipulated the arbitrator pool."
Edwards' Jan. 25 order centered on a 2017 FINRA dispute filed by Wells Fargo Advisors client Brian Leggett over more than $1.1 million in losses that he said he incurred at the hands of Wells Fargo brokers. In 2019, an arbitration panel denied Leggett's claim.
In 2021, Leggett asked the Georgia court to vacate the Wells Fargo award while Wells Fargo asked the court to confirm it.
Edwards vacated the FINRA arbitration decision, finding that Wells Fargo and its counsel manipulated the arbitration process. The manipulation was accomplished with the help of FINRA Dispute Resolution Services, according to Edwards.
