Attorney Jonathan Evans Gets Back-to-Back Wins Against Two Brokerage Firms in Two...

Attorney Jonathan Evans Gets Back-to-Back Wins Against Two Brokerage Firms in
Two Weeks

STUDIO CITY, Calif., Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The month of December 2007
was lucrative for clients of attorney Jonathan Evans. Mr. Evans and his
co-counsel, Michael Edmiston, prevailed in back-to-back arbitration hearings
before Los Angeles based FINRA arbitration panels. In both cases, the conduct
of the brokers and their firms was so shocking that both arbitration panels
awarded attorney's fees and expert witness fees along with hefty compensatory
damages.
In the first week's hearing, Evans represented a senior citizen and his
wife against A.G. Edwards and its broker, Anthony Russo. Mr. Russo, a broker
who had a prior history of discipline including both a termination from a firm
and a regulatory suspension for recommending unsuitable securities, positioned
much of his client's retirement funds in high-risk equities just months before
the technology bubble imploded. Despite calls from his clients, Mr. Russo did
absolutely nothing to mitigate the devastating losses; rather he simply
abandoned his clients to one of the worst bear markets in history. Commenting
on the award, Evans had this to say: "I am always happy to represent a client
in correcting a wrong that even a first-year branch manager could have
prevented." On behalf of his clients, Evans recovered $84,000 in compensatory
damages, $33,600 in attorney's fees, and $13,000 expert witness fees.
Anthony Russo, despite his checkered history, and now this arbitration award,
is the branch manager of the A.G. Edwards office in Oxnard, California. The
FINRA case number is 05-05647 and the award may be found at
http://www.finra.org.
In the second week's hearing, Evans represented a single-mother of two
whose broker, Shapour Javadizadeh, of RJJ Pasadena Securities caused massive
trading losses in her account with a high-risk option trading strategy. His
client inherited the account from her father in 2002 and was using the money
to pay her living expenses while rebuilding her life. In a hard-fought week
of hearings, which saw numerous "attorney-only" conferences with the
Arbitration Panel, including one which resulted in sanctions against the
Respondents for their shenanigans in withholding documents, Evans prevailed
for his client. The Panel awarded $151,000 in compensatory damages,
attorney's fees, expert witness fees, and sanctions. "During my
cross-examination of the broker, I was amazed when he literally stood up
before the Panel and admitted he did everything complained about in the Claim.
It was a moment out of a courtroom drama, and his admission won the case for
us," said Evans, reflecting back on the hearing. The FINRA case number is
06-04288 and the award may be found at http://www.finra.org.
According to Edmiston, "the arbitration panels in both cases recognized
how badly the brokers violated the legal and ethical obligations owed to their
clients, and gave the rare remedy of attorney's fees. In this field, an award
of attorney's fees is seen as a statement from an arbitration panel that there
was significant wrong-doing by the broker and/or the firm."
Following up December's two victories, and just one business day after
finishing the hearings, Evans negotiated a large settlement for his client
against one of the largest banks in the United States, the terms of which
remain confidential. "After two big wins and a successful settlement in
December, I am looking forward to carrying this success into 2008 for all of
my clients," said Evans.
Practicing law since 1975, Evans specializes in securities arbitration
matters, which currently represent 95% of his practice. He limits his
representation to public customers and has litigated hundreds of securities
arbitration claims, trying more than fifty cases to conclusion at the FINRA.
Evans has also mediated many more, and proudly represented hundreds of other
public investors in their disputes, many of which have resulted in favorable
settlements.
Contact: Michael Edmiston 213-626-1881
SOURCE Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans and Associates

Michael Edmiston of Law Offices of Jonathan W. Evans and Associates,
+1-213-626-1881