Richard Happle, a former registered representative with Tampa, Florida-based Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (Raymond James) submitted a Letter of Acceptance, Waiver and Consent in which he consented to, but did not admit to or deny, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority’s (FINRA) findings that he failed to execute a customer trade order, thereby allegedly causing his customer to suffer approximately $28,000 in losses.
According to FINRA, Richard Happle, of St. Petersburg, Florida, was instructed by his customer to sell all shares of a certain stock held in his account at the market open the following day. The next day, Richard Happle allegedly decided not to sell the customer’s stock shares due to the fact that the stock price was falling rapidly and he wanted to talk over the decision to sell with his customer. The customer, however, lived in Alaska and Richard Happle delayed contacting him by a few hours due to the time zone difference.
FINRA’s findings stated that when the customer called Richard Happle and learned that the stock shares had not been sold at the market open, he told Richard Happle to sell them immediately. In the time between market open and when the stocks were sold, however, the price had fallen significantly, resulting in the customer receiving approximately $28,000 less in proceeds from the sale. Consequently, Richard Happle was assessed a deferred fine of $5,000 and suspended from association with any FINRA member in any capacity for 10 days. Richard Happle and Raymond James subsequently compensated the customer for the losses suffered due to the failure to execute the trade order.
Stockbrokers, financial advisors, and other industry professionals have been known to engage in many types of misconduct and unlawful behavior, including the failure to execute trades. In order to protect investors from stockbroker misconduct, FINRA rules require brokerage firms to establish and implement a reasonable supervisory system. These rules require supervisors to monitor employees to ensure they comply with federal and state securities laws, securities industry rules and regulations, as well as the brokerage firm’s own policies and procedures. If brokerage firms and their supervisors do not establish and implement these protective measures, they may be held liable to account holders for losses flowing from the misconduct. As a result, investors who have suffered losses due to a stockbroker’s failure to execute a trade order or other misconduct can bring forth claims to recover damages against broker-dealers like Raymond James, which have a duty to supervise its employees in order to prevent the above-described misconduct.
Have you suffered losses in your Raymond James investment account due to your stockbroker’s fraudulent and/or unlawful misconduct? If so, call Robert Pearce at the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. for a free consultation. Mr. Pearce is accepting clients with valid claims against stockbrokers and other financial professionals for failure to execute trade orders, mismanagement of accounts, and/or other unauthorized and illegal conduct.
The most important of investors’ rights is the right to be informed! This Investors’ Rights blog post is by the Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A., located in Boca Raton, Florida. For over , Attorney Pearce has tried, arbitrated, and mediated hundreds of disputes involving complex securities, commodities, and investment law issues. The lawyers at our law firm are devoted to protecting investors’ rights throughout the United States and internationally! Please post a comment, call (800) 732-2889, send Mr. Pearce an email at pearce@rwpearce.com, and/or visit our website at www.secatty.com for answers to any of your questions about this blog post and/or any related matter.
Robert Wayne Pearce
Robert Wayne Pearce of The Law Offices of Robert Wayne Pearce, P.A. has been a trial attorney for more than 40 years and has helped recover over $125 million dollars for his clients. During that time, he developed a well-respected and highly accomplished legal career representing investors and brokers in disputes with one another and the government and industry regulators. To speak with Attorney Pearce, call (800) 732-2889 or Contact Us online for a FREE INITIAL CONSULTATION with Attorney Pearce about your case.
Rate this Post
Loading...