Soreide Law Group Wins FINRA Award in Favor of Heirs Recovering 100% Against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

business man holding his head with text asking questions about stock broker misconduct

Soreide Law Group, PLLC, was notified by FINRA today that the clients they represented against Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, LLC (“MSSB”) were awarded 100% of compensatory damages, in addition to expert fees, pre-judgment interest, and costs.

In a published FINRA award, case number 10-02604, Attorney Lars Soreide, recovered for his clients, who were the heirs and trustees to their late father’s estate, 100% of the damages caused by MSSB for not allowing their clients to roll over their late father’s minimum distribution back into his 401K which resulted in unnecessary tax consequences. This case offers precedential value for future FINRA arbitrations that relate to unnecessary tax consequences incurred by brokerage firm’s negligent or non compliant policies or procedures that result in unnecessary tax consequences to their clients.

The Claimants, who were acting in their capacities as trustees, were improperly barred from rolling over their late father’s IRA distribution. The Claimants argued that a trustee upon death, steps into the shoes of the decedent, and can do for the decedent everything the decedent could have done if alive. As authority for this proposition, Claimant’s attorney Lars Soreide, cited Gunther v. United States, 573 F. Supp. 126 – United States District Court, W.D. Michigan (1982). Claimants’ expert witness was Gary Sellari of Divine Blaclock Martin and Sellari and all expert witness fees were awarded back to Claimants in addition to pre-judgment interest dating back to Nov., 2009.

For more information on Lars Soreide, Soreide Law Group, PLLC, this case, or other securities related claims please visit https://www.securitieslawyer.com or call 888-760-6552. Soreide Law Group, PLLC, representing investors nationwide.

Recent Posts

August 17, 2026

Jeffrey L Bangerter of Concorde Investments & Formerly of Berthel Fisher

Soreide Law Group has filed a FINRA arbitration on behalf of our clients (Claimants) against: CONCORDE INVESTMENTS SERVICES, LLC, and BERTHEL, FISHER & COMPANY FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC (Respondents). The Claimants are in their late 70s, retired, and according to the lawsuit, were not looking to take any unnecessary risks with their retirement savings. The Claimants […]

August 17, 2026

THEODORE W BYRER Suspended by FINRA

THEODORE WILLIAM BYRER (THEODORE W BYRER, TED BYRER) was registered as a broker with MORGAN STANLEY of Indianapolis, Indiana, from 11/11/2013 - 04/20/2023. He was most recently registered with INTERNATIONAL ASSETS ADVISORY, INC of Westfield, Indiana, from 05/09/2023 - 09/17/2024. According to his BrokerCheck CRD report, dated 7/23/2026, THEODORE W BYRER was suspended for 14 […]

August 13, 2026

MARK L SULLIVAN Fined and Suspended

MARK LAWRENCE SULLIVAN (MARK SULLIVAN, MARK L SULLIVAN), formerly with UBS Wealth Management USA in New York City, was fined $10,000 and suspended for three months by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) over allegations that he traded in customers’ accounts without the proper approval. Sullivan was previously registered both as a broker and as an […]

Contact us Nationwide USA

2401 E. Atlantic Blvd., Suite 305, Pompano Beach, FL 33062

Phone: 1-888-760-6552
Fax: 1-954-760-6553
Email: info@securitieslawyer.com

Helping clients recover money across the USA