BH&F Blog

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Securities Litigation Consulting Group Releases Regions Morgan Keegan Paper

PRNewswire reports that Securities Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc. ("SLCG") has issued a report on six Regions Morgan Keegan bond funds. In this report, SLCG explains how the Regions Morgan Keegan funds collectively lost $2 billion in 2007 because they held concentrated holdings of low-priority tranches in structured finance deals backed by risky debt including subprime mortgages. The report concludes that Regions Morgan Keegan did not disclose the leveraged credit risks it was exposing investors to until well after the losses had occurred in 2007. The report goes on to show that Regions Morgan Keegan misrepresented hundreds of millions of dollars of leveraged asset-backed securities -- some of which were the toxic waste in risky deals -- as corporate bonds and preferred stocks thereby making the funds seem more diversified and less risky than they were. SLCG illustrates its findings for the six funds using Regions Morgan Keegan's Multi-Sector High Income fund (RHY) and with four examples of the complex tranches RHY held. This study and other working papers are available at http://www.slcg.com/research.php. Securities Litigation and Consulting Group, Inc. ("SLCG") is a financial economics consulting firm based in the Virginia suburbs outside of Washington, DC.

posted by BHF at 9:47 AM 0 comments

FINRA Awards Schwab Yield Plus Investor Over $500,000

AboutLawsuits.com reports that an investor who lost money in the Schwab Yield Plus Fund was awarded $542,340 as part of an arbitration claim filed against his broker. Schwab YieldPlus is an ultra-short bond fund sold by Charles Schwab as an alternative to cash or money market funds. It was designed to generate income with minimal changes in share price. However, investors experienced losses of over 30% this year as a result of heavy exposure to risky subprime mortgage-backed securities. Like thousands of other investors, Jeffrey Nielson filed an arbitration claim through the Financial Industry Regulator Agency (FINRA) to recover his losses based on misrepresentations and false statements about the extent of risk associated with the fund. Nielson claimed that he purchased shares of Schwab YieldPlus based on the recommendations of his broker. However, he alleged that the broker failed to disclose that over half of the funds assets were in illiquid mortgage backed securities and also failed to disclose that it was a proprietary fund. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) oversees the activities of 5,000 brokerage firms throughout the United States. In the event of a dispute between an investor and a broker, most brokerage agreements require FINRA arbitration instead of lawsuits through the court system. The arbitration panel awarded over half a million dollars to Nielson, in what is believed to be the second such Schwab Yield Plus arbitration result as a result of the collapse of this fund. According to Investmentnews.com, the other Schwab YieldPlus arbitration claim also resulted in an award in favor of the investor, which much less significant losses of $18,425. In the coming months, it is expected that hundreds of other claims with be decided by arbitration panels if Schwab does not reach a settlement for YieldPlus investors. In addition, financial fraud lawyers are continuing to review cases for individuals who have lost as little as $10,000 of their investments in Schwab YieldPlus Fund Investor Shares (SWYSX) and Schwab YieldPlus Fund Select Shares (SWYPX).

posted by BHF at 9:31 AM 0 comments

Monday, October 6, 2008

Understanding Your Rights in a Truck Accident

Though truck drivers are usually skilled professionals, the pressures on truck drivers to meet schedules and the complexities of driving a large vehicle, like an 18-wheeler, can lead to serious truck accidents. Most of the deaths or injuries in a collision between a truck and a car or motorcycle involve the driver or passengers of the non-commercial vehicle. Truck accident injuries can be catastrophic and can lead to long-term disability. A wrongful death can have a ripple effect on the lives of many, affecting relationships and the emotional and financial well-being of families.

The legal issues relating to truck accidents are complex and some are unique to trucks. The trucking industry is regulated by the Department of Transportation or DOT and by state laws. For example, truck laws impact:

The number of hours a truck driver can drive at a time
Maintenance of vehicles
Truck size and load weight
Truck routes
Containment measures and signs, if a truck is carrying toxic chemicals
Loading and unloading requirements

Failure to obey any of these regulations can play a role in determining fault in a truck accident case and which parties can be sued. It’s usually not just the truck driver—a truck company and truck manufacturer also can be parties to a truck accident lawsuit. The attorneys at Burke, Harvey & Frankowski, LLC have expertise in multi-party cases and in the regulations affecting trucks.

Though it’s difficult to maintain presence of mind at an accident scene, there are some things you can do to protect your rights.

If you are able to, you should identify people who may have seen the accident and get their phone numbers. Tucking a disposable camera into the glove compartment of your car is always a good idea, and if you’re physically able to, you should take pictures of the accident scene or ask a witness to do so.

You may not immediately appreciate that you’ve been hurt and so you should see a doctor as soon as possible even if you feel alright. Notify your insurance company right away but don’t make statements, sign releases or waivers until you get legal advice. In particular, you shouldn’t make statements to representatives of a truck company or the truck company’s insurance provider. It’s not that you shouldn’t be helpful, but issues of fault can involve complicated legal considerations and the accident scene is not usually the place where you can calmly consider all the facts.

Truck accidents can implicate the laws of negligence, personal injury laws, and wrongful death laws, to name a few. You may also find yourself dealing with long-term disability claims and have questions about disability benefits denials.

The attorneys at Burke, Harvey & Frankowski, LLC have expertise in each of these areas and we are here to help. Please contact us today to schedule your confidential consultation.

posted by Patti at 3:25 PM 0 comments

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