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A FINRA arbitration panel in New York City recently awarded customers over $800,000 against UBS and a broker from UBS’ Melville, LI office, Michael James Keane (FINRA Arbitration No. 16-03148).
The claim was filed by Scott Feldman and the Scott and Janet Feldman Revocable Trust. The claim named UBS and Keane as respondents and alleged negligence, fraudulent misrepresentation and breach of fiduciary duty, among other causes of action, and $1,181,034 in damages.
UBS and Keane denied the allegations.
The panel awarded the claimants $805,120 plus interest under New York law. The requests for punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and other costs were denied.
Keane has been in the securities industry since 1968. He worked in UBS’ Melville office from September 2007 until March 2016. He is currently not registered in the securities industry.
Keane’s BrokerCheck report details nine customer complaint disclosures, including the Feldman arbitration. The report indicates he has a pending complaint that was filed in October 2017. That complaint alleges $300,000 in damages and involves the sale of “high risk energy stocks and MLPs” (master limited partnerships) to the customer.
Seven other customer complaints, many of which also relate to energy stocks, are detailed on his BrokerCheck report. These complaints were filed against Keane going back to 2009 and as recently as July 2016. The BrokerCheck report indicates that four of the complaints were settled for a total of $1,157,620. Claimed damages for the settled complaints were $3,120,434.
The three other complaints were denied by his then employers.
The energy sector is a notoriously volatile segment of the marketplace. Energy companies, which often operate in the form of MLPs, are subject to the often frequent and severe price fluctuation of gas and oil.
Lubiner, Schmidt & Palumbo are experienced securities arbitration attorneys. If you were a client of UBS and Keane, and believe your account was mishandled, contact our offices for a consultation. We have the knowledge and experience to determine if any investment losses you may have suffered are due to the negligence or otherwise improper conduct of your broker.