Legal Question in Securities Law in California

Re: NASD Liabilities

It's not clear here who accepted the bribe -- was it the Director or the Arbitrator(s)?

If the Director accepted the bribe, then the NASD would clearly be liable on a respondeat superior theory or perhaps also a negligent hiring or similar theory

If however it was an arbitrator or arbitrators who accpeted the bribe, and the arbitrator(s) were not employees of the NASD, it would probably be necessary to prove that the NASD's negligence was a cause of your loss, and this could be tough because of the additional degree of separation between the NASD itself and the arb(s) chosen by a director.

An admission to taking a bribe is a serious matter, and if this has not been brought to the attention of a distrivt attorney with jurisdiction, or the state's attorney general, it ought to be. Further, if the amount of money you lost was significant and there has already been a hearing, you need legal representation (or needed it) in this matter.

Re: NASD Liabilities

As a long time arbitrator for the NASD I am very interested in your situation. If there was an admission, then you should be able to have another hearing (trial) on the issues. As to your question, it depends on what the NASD staff knew and when they knew it. They would not be liable for criminal activity unless they knew or had reason to know--they would have to be part of the bribery.

J. Selik

JOEL SELIK Attorney at Law

800-894-2889 760-479-1515 702-243-1930

www.SelikLaw.com

Licensed to Practice Law in California and Nevada Only CA Licensed Real Estate Broker

CONCENTRATING IN LITIGATION: REAL ESTATE, ELDER ABUSE, APPEALS, AND COLLECTIONS Personal Injury, Contracts, Tax Matters, Business, Malpractice, Appeals, Elder Neglect/Abuse/Nursing Home Malpractice Real Estate, and Other Legal Matters

This is just general information. No representations are made and no attorney client relationship is established by this communication. In most matters there are strict time limitations within which actions may be taken or your rights will be compromised. We are not taking any action on your matter and will not be considered your attorney or tax representative until both you and we have signed a fee agreement.

We, therefore will take no action on your behalf unless a written retainer agreement is signed. There are strict deadlines, called statutes of limitation, within which claims or lawsuits must be filed. Therefore, if you do not retain SELIKLAW, you should immediately seek the services of another attorney or other advisor.

If you send a lawyer or law firm email, your email will not create an attorney-client relationship and will not necessarily be treated as privileged or confidential. You should not send sensitive or confidential information via email. The lawyer or law firm to whom you are writing may not choose to accept you as a client. Moreover, as the Internet is not necessarily a secure environment it is possible that your email sent via the Internet might be intercepted and read by third parties.