Our clients entrusted their substantial investment portfolio to an advisor employed by a Canadian investment dealer. The investment advisor failed to follow our clients’ investment instructions and they suffered significant losses in a number of stocks. As a result of the advisor’s failure to communicate with our clients, a substantial part our clients’ holdings were wrongly sold at a very disadvantageous price. The investment advisor promised to return the holdings to our clients’ account but he did not do so. Other stocks were also sold contrary to instructions resulting in large losses. Several months later, our clients learned that the investment advisor had been fired because of improper dealings with another customer’s accounts but our clients had not been informed. Our clients’ negotiations with senior officials of the investment dealer did not produce an acceptable resolution. Our clients’ commercial lawyer referred them to us. In the complex litigation which ensued, the investment dealer refused to completely disclose all of its records and vigorously defended our clients’ claims. Several lengthy court attendances were necessary to get to the bottom of all financial issues. We had to hire a forensic accounting expert to calculate our clients’ losses. We also discovered that our clients’ signatures were forged on numerous documents in the investment dealer’s files. Weeks of oral discovery and motions ensued. Several mediations and negotiating sessions took place. It appeared almost certain that case would go to a lengthy trial, an event our clients hoped to avoid. Eventually, as a result of our determined strategic efforts, a very substantial settlement was negotiated, which compensated all of our clients’ losses and a trial was avoided.
