Columbus Law Firm Represents Plaintiffs in Investor and Policyholder Disputes
You can spend your whole adult life making mortgage payments, keeping up with insurance premiums, and building a stock portfolio only to find that the investments you made to see you and your family through retirement, a disaster, or a disabling injury or illness cannot be relied upon because the advisors and companies you trusted acted illegally or dishonestly. Financial fraud, misrepresentations, and legal tricks employed to avoid paying fair value for everything from insurance claims to stock sales harm millions of people each year.
Borrowers, investors, and insurance policyholders can face long odds in holding mortgage lenders, stockbrokers, and insurers accountable for fraud and unfair treatment. Financial contracts are written intentionally to confuse people and to protect corporate interests. Filing a lawsuit is often the only the option a cheated, mistreated, or defrauded person has to get their money, keep their home, and receive compensation. When that becomes necessary, the civil litigation attorneys with Leist Warner are ready to help.
Financial Institutions Do Not Have Clients’ Interests at Heart
Several federal and state laws primarily enforced, respectively, by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Securities exist to prevent fraud and mistreatment by financial institutions, investment advisers, lenders, and savings banks. Violations are common, with some consequences being as devastating as the Great Recession and housing market collapse that began in 2007-2008 with the trading of essentially worthless mortgage-backed securities. Even when just one person or family suffers because they entrusted the wrong organization or person with their money, the resulting hardships can be no less difficult to overcome.
Here are just a few of the ways ordinary, hardworking individuals can become victims of financial and consumer fraud, and also find themselves in need of representation by a Columbus investment fraud attorney.
Improper Sales of Life Insurance Policies
Every life insurance policy issued in Ohio must conform to a lengthy and strict set of requirements spelled out in great detail in O.R.C. 3915, which is enforced by the Department of Insurance. Consulting with a plaintiff’s lawyer before signing any high-value policy or a contract with special provisions can provide essential protections before any premiums gets paid. Severing an unfair contract and recouping good money thrown after bad can prove impossible. Beyond unfair terms and conditions, practices that fall under the definition of improper sales of life insurance policies include false advertising and pressuring people to purchase more coverage than they require.
Denied Insurance Claims
Insurers write broad coverage exclusions into the policies they issue, and the companies often try to deny claims by baselessly asserting that a policyholder caused the reported property damage, loss, or injury. Collecting and presenting evidence that effectively counters such tactics can require assistance from a Columbus insurance claim denial lawyer.
Improper Sales of Annuities
Under O.R.C. 3901-6-13, any company or organization selling an annuity must possess the ability to return funds to purchasers, disclose all contract terms, and meet guarantees regarding premiums, accrued interest, and payout dates. One common improper—meaning unethical and potentially criminal—annuity sales technique involves offering elderly people contracts that extend well beyond the individuals’ expected lifespans, such as 12-year annuities for 90-year-old clients.
Improper Foreclosures and Denied Loan Modifications
Contacting a Columbus foreclosure defense lawyer as soon as you begin falling behind on your mortgage is imperative. A foreclosure process can start without your knowledge, and you only have seven calendar days to respond to an official foreclosure notice. With banks and mortgage companies continuing to make modifying loans difficult, working with an attorney who knows contracts and home ownership law in your corner can be invaluable.
Unsuitable Investment Sales
Stock, annuity, and insurance salespeople cannot ethically or legally promote and sell products they know will lose money. Nor can any organization or person encourage making an investment that will only harm the purchaser while profiting the seller.
Stockbroker Misconduct
Any investment advisor or account manager who embezzles from clients, misrepresents the quality of investments, underpays interest and dividends, or operates in any other way to intentionally harm an investor deserves to face a Columbus stockbroker misconduct attorney in court.
Unfair Investment Valuations
Some financial cases get referred out of the civil court system and into an arbitration or mediation process administered according to rules set by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA. Attorneys with Leist Warner have extensive experience representing clients during FINRA arbitrations, which arrive at expert rulings on which parties to deal have assigned the fairest dollar values to securities being sold and purchased. When large corporate stockholdings are at issue, a client may benefit from hiring a Columbus, Ohio, antitrust attorney from our office.
Get the Help You Need With Your Financial Contract Dispute
Whether you need a Columbus, Ohio loan modification lawyer or a securities fraud attorney, you can find the legal champion you need at Leist Warner. While we cannot accept every case we learn about, we know what the law and professional standards require of insurers, lenders, and investment brokers. When you have been mistreated or lied to by financial service providers and their salespeople, call us at (614) 222-1000. You can also reach out to us online by filling out this form. We always provide no-cost consultations.
