Madison Avenue Securities LLC FINRA Arbitration

Case name: Gambee v. David Lloyd Barber and Madison Avenue Securities LLC 

Case type: Financial Services Litigation
Filed in: [Superior Court of California, San Diego County]
Docket: [Case no. 37-2018-00002231-CU-PA-CTL] 

Case Summary

In March 2018, Sanford Heisler Sharp obtained a $2.1 million FINRA arbitration award on behalf of Donna Gambee, whose investment nest egg was decimated by an imprudent, high-risk investment strategy that her stockbroker, David Lloyd Barber, had recommended both before and during his association with Madison Avenue Securities LLC. 

The claim alleged that in addition to making imprudent investment recommendations in volatile energy stocks and unsuitable derivatives, the broker made 120 stock trades in the client’s accounts within a six-month period, many of which were multiple and overlapping trades made in the same stock within weeks, or even days, of one another. While the client was sustaining large losses in the market, the stockbroker was generating substantial commission income for himself. 

Following a 12-day hearing, a three-person arbitration panel sitting in San Diego awarded our client $2.1 million in compensatory damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs.