| NATURE
AND OVERVIEW OF THE LAWSUIT |
 |
 |
In 2005 and 2006, a group of African American Plaintiffs filed claims of race discrimination against Merrill Lynch on behalf of current and former African American Financial Advisors and Financial Advisor Trainees. The Lawsuit alleged that Merrill Lynch was engaged in both intentional and unintentional, or disparate impact, discrimination and denied African Americans business opportunities, including teaming and client account distributions, resulting in the lower pay to and higher attrition of African Americans. The Court has not ruled on the merits of the claims or defenses. |
|
|
|
On July 13, 2012, United States District Judge Robert W. Gettleman entered an Order certifying a class action to challenge Merrill Lynch’s account distribution and teaming policies (the “Class Claims”). The class includes African Americans employed as Merrill Lynch Financial Advisors and Financial Advisor Trainees at any time since July 10, 2004 (the “Disparate Impact Class”), as further defined in Section IV below. The Plaintiffs’ intentional discrimination claims were not certified for class treatment. |
|
|
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE SEVENTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS DECISION:
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Opinion of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
|
|
On July 25, 2012, Merrill Lynch filed their Petition for Certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States. In doing so they hoped to appeal the February 24, 2012 decision by the 7th Circuit certifying the class. On October 1, 2012, the Supreme Court issued an Order denying Merrill Lynch’s Petition. |
|
|
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE OCTOBER 1, 2012 SUPREME COURT ORDER:
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Notice from Supreme Court Denying Petitioner's Writ of Certiorari.
|
|
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE SUPREME COURT BRIEFS:
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Petition for Certiorari.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Brief in Opposition.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Amicus Brief of Product Advisory Council, Inc. et al.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Amicus Brief of Equal Employment Advisory Council.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Amicus Brief of DRI - The Voice of the Defense Bar.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Amicus Brief of Pacific Legal Foundation.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Reply in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Supplemental Brief of Respondents.
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Supplmental Response in Support of Petition for a Writ of Certiorari.
|
|
|
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE PLAINTIFFS' SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT:
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Second Amended Complaint.
|
|
|
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFFS' MOTION FOR CERTIFICATION:
• McReynolds, et al. v. Merrill Lynch: Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Certification.
|
|
|
PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLES REFERENCING RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS CASE:
• Supreme Court Won't Question Class Certification in Merrill Bias Suit.
• Merrill Lynch Rejected by High Court on Broker Bias Suit.
• US Supreme Court rejects appeal on Merrill broker bias.
• Merrill Lynch v. McReynolds: Supreme Court Denies Cert. Petition, Lets Seventh Circuit Ruling Stand.
• Merrill Lynch v. McReynolds, et al. - Cert Denied.
• Comcast Follows Wal-Mart in High Court Lawsuit Attack.
|
| |
Please call 312-431-0888 to contact an attorney at Stowell & Friedman, Ltd. for more information about the lawsuit. You can also visit our main website, Stowell & Friedman, Ltd., to learn more about the firm. We welcome former employees and current Financial Advisors to contact us for information or to share their work experiences at Merrill Lynch.
|
