Dispute Resolution Statistics

ON THIS PAGE

Arbitration Statistics Through March

Year New Case Filings Cases Closed Open Cases Turnaround Time (in months)
2019 Total: 830
Customer: 491 (59%)
Intra-Industry: 339 (41%)		 1,020 4,850 Overall: 13.5
Hearing Decisions: 16.9
Simplified Decisions: 6.0
2018 Total: 1,152
Customer: 689 (60%)
Intra-Industry: 463 (40%)		 950 4,658 Overall: 14.4
Hearing Decisions: 15.9
Simplified Decisions: 6.3
2017 Total: 795
Customer: 501 (63%)
Intra-Industry: 294 (37%)		 995 4,502 Overall: 14.7
Hearing Decisions: 16.3
Simplified Decisions: 7.1
2019 vs 2018 Total: -28% 
Customer: -29%
Intra-Industry: -27%		 +7% +4%  Overall: -6%
Hearing Decisions: +6%
Simplified Decisions: -5%

Historical Statistics for Cases Filed and Closed 

Year Cases Filed Cases Closed
2019 830 1,020
2018 4,325 3,756
2017 3,456 3,735
2016 3,681 3,635
2015 3,435 3,489
2014 3,822 3,838
Year Cases Filed Cases Closed
2013 3,714 4,498
2012 4,299 4,877
2011 4,729 6,099
2010 5,680 6,241
2009 7,137 4,571
2008 4,982 3,757
Year Cases Filed Cases Closed
2007 3,238 5,345
2006 4,614 7,212
2005 6,074 9,043
2004 8,201 9,209
2003 8,945 7,278
2002 7,704 5,957

Top 15 Controversy Types in Customer Arbitrations

A single arbitration case may include multiple controversy types.

Controversy   2019 Cases served 2018 2017 2016 2015
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Through March 424 581 405 487 370
Year-End -- 2,290 1,899 2,002 1,807
Negligence Through March 395 486 373 434 354
Year-End -- 1,974 1,662 1,862 1,677
Failure to Supervise Through March 363 461 350 437 323
Year-End -- 1,935 1,621 1,802 1,554
Breach of Contract Through March 316 393 289 378 302
Year-End -- 1,711 1,318 1,495 1,444
Suitability Through March 315 478 330 382 254
Year-End -- 1,779 1,606 1,606 1,364
Misrepresentation Through March 313 472 329 396 291
Year-End -- 1,775 1,663 1,670 1,499
Omission of Facts Through March 287 409 283 306 242
Year-End -- 1,547 1,493 1,394 1,216
Fraud Through March 285 424 285 282 189
Year-End -- 1,707 1,389 1,301 1,089
Violation of Blue Sky Laws Through March 126 200 99 76 41
Year-End -- 810 547 344 236
Manipulation Through March 80 48 56 65 28
Year-End -- 302 299 236 208
Unauthorized Trading Through March 53 60 73 90 54
Year-End -- 245 263 362 264
Elder Abuse* Through March 47 57 -- -- --
Year-End -- 216 61 -- --
Churning Through March 47 52 62 76 56
Year-End -- 205 219 254 247
Margin Calls Through March 27 13 13 22 22
Year-End -- 85 62 84 97
Errors-charges Through March 15 22 12 11 17
Year-End -- 81 66 56 64

* These categories were not tracked for the years in which no data appears.

Top 15 Security Types in Customer Arbitrations

A single arbitration case may include multiple security types.

Security   2019 Cases served 2018 2017 2016 2015
Municipal Bonds Through March 136 211 70 120 82
Year-End -- 971 565 433 559
Municipal Bond Funds Through March 134 195 62 131 72
Year-End -- 959 558 480 607
Common Stock Through March 126 181 132 174 120
Year-End -- 579 604 646 610
Mutual Funds Through March 118 169 76 56 58
Year-End -- 731 447 352 373
Government Securities Through March 69 93 24 6 5
Year-End -- 519 229 96 169
Options Through March 55 50 28 32 33
Year-End -- 150 127 124 128
Real Estate Investment Trust Through March 50 36 48 41 47
Year-End -- 205 177 184 191
Private Equities Through March 34 29 28 34 19
Year-End -- 111 111 114 92
Limited Partnerships Through March 30 35 41 34 19
Year-End -- 144 183 199 79
Exchange-Traded Funds Through March 28 45 32 43 41
Year-End -- 167 131 133 127
Annuities Through March 25 25 30 31 20
Year-End -- 101 115 127 81
Variable Annuities Through March 22 21 38 22 22
Year-End -- 105 129 115 104
Corporate Bonds Through March 21 40 27 34 18
Year-End -- 135 119 154 194
401(k)* Through March 18 26 16 -- --
Year-End -- 94 69 27 --
Preferred Stock Through March 12 19 10 9 7
Year-End -- 59 54 74 142

* These categories were not tracked for the years in which no data appears.

Top 15 Controversy Types in Intra-Industry Arbitrations

A single arbitration case may include multiple controversy types.

CONTROVERSY   2019 Cases Served 2018 2017 2016 2015
Breach of Contract Through March 87 81 114 93 79
Year-End -- 413 403 389 373
Promissory Notes Through March 52 72 78 99 86
Year-End -- 261 296 401 401
Libel, Slander, or Defamation Through March 42 45 30 34 22
Year-End -- 166 117 124 115
Compensation Through March 38 34 44 41 30
Year-End -- 168 161 163 140
Libel or Slander on Form U-5 Through March 33 36 34 25 33
Year-End -- 135 136 124 119
Wrongful Termination Through March 27 25 34 29 33
Year-End -- 122 116 127 123
Commissions Through March 19 19 32 15 17
Year-End -- 95 103 60 73
Misrepresentation Through March 18 34 3 2 5
Year-End -- 68 54 21 17
Discrimination or Harassment* Through March 16 9 11 16 12
Year-End -- 38 37 58 54
Suitability Through March 12 43 -- -- --
Year-End -- 63 59 15 1
Negligence Through March 12 14 5 3 6
Year-End -- 32 25 17 21
Breach of Fiduciary Duty Through March 11 19 9 5 3
Year-End -- 39 52 18 28
Omission of Facts Through March 10 5 3 1 --
Year-End -- 18 16 7 8
Fraud Through March 5 9 3 2 4
Year-End -- 24 26 11 13
Unauthorized Trading Through March 5 7 3 -- --
Year-End -- 13 28 10 2

* This category combines the following discrimination controversy types: disability, age, gender, race, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, employment discrimination, and sexual harassment. This number does not represent the number of cases served, as one case may have multiple discrimination claims.

How Arbitration Cases Close

Cases Decided by Arbitrators 2019 (% of Cases) 2018 2017 2016 2015
After Hearing 148 (15%) 517 (14%) 512 (14%) 593 (16%) 646 (19%)
After Review of Documents 30 (3%) 130 (4%) 135 (4%) 157 (4%) 182 (5%)
Total 178 (18%) 647 (17%) 647 (18%) 750 (21%) 828 (24%)
Cases Resolved by Other Means 2019 (% of Cases) 2018 2017 2016 2015
Direct Settlement by Parties 581 (58%) 2,005 (54%) 1,964 (53%) 1,812 (50%) 1,716 (50%)
Settled via Mediation 116 (12%) 493 (13%) 493 (13%) 433 (12%) 306 (9%)
Withdrawn 77 (8%) 333 (9%) 348 (9%) 341 (9%) 317 (9%)
All Others 56 (6%) 233 (6%) 240 (7%) 275 (8%) 294 (8%)
Total 830 (82%) 3,064 (83%) 3,045 (82%) 2,861 (79%) 2,633 (76%)

Results of Customer Claimant Arbitration Award Cases

Year Decided All Customer Claimant Cases Decided (Hearings & Paper) Percentage Decided of All Customer Claimant Cases Closed Percentage (and Number) of Cases where Customer Awarded Damages
2019 87 15% 41% (36 cases)
2018 359 15% 40% (145 cases)
2017 352 14% 43% (151 cases)
2016 389 16% 41% (158 cases)
2015 455 20% 42% (190 cases)
2014 465 19% 38% (177 cases)

Result of Customer Claimant Arbitration Award Cases (Paper Only)

Year Decided Customer Claimant Cases Decided (Paper Only) Paper Customer Claimant Cases Where Customer Awarded Damages Customer Claimant Not Awarded Damages Percentage of Customer Award Paper Cases
2019 20 9 11 45%
2018 85 30 55 35%
2017 80 29 51 36%
2016 117 44 73 38%
2015 136 45 91 33%
2014 160 49 111 31%

Result of Customer Claimant Arbitration Award Cases (Hearing Only)

Year Decided Customer Claimant Cases Decided (Hearing Only) Hearing Customer Claimant Cases Where Customer Awarded Damages Hearing Customer Claimant Not Awarded Damages Percentage of Customer Award Hearing Cases
2019 67 27 40 40%
2018 274 115 159 42%
2017 272 122 150 45%
2016 272 114 158 42%
2015 319 145 174 45%
2014 305 128 177 42%

Results of All-Public Panels and Majority Public Panels in Customer Cases

Year Decided Cases Decided by All-Public Panels Percentage (and Number) of Cases Decided by 3 Public Arbitrators where Customer Awarded Damages Cases Decided by Majority-Public Panels Percentage (and Number) of Cases Decided by 2 Public Arbitrators and 1 Non-Public Arbitrator where Customer Awarded Damages
2019 28 54% (15 cases) 19 37% (7 cases)
2018 158 42% (67 cases) 58 47% (27 cases)
2017 137 48% (66 cases) 71 37% (26 cases)
2016 145 43% (63 cases) 72 36% (26 cases)
2015 163 47% (77 cases) 84 45% (38 cases)
2014 135 44% (59 cases) 104 38% (39 cases)

Arbitrators by Type and Location

Arbitrator Type Total
Public 3,586
Non-Public 4,348
Total 7,934

Number of Cases and Arbitrators* per Hearing Location Through March

Click on each hearing location below to view the number of cases and a breakdown of available arbitrators by type. View in table format.

We expand arbitrator pools in select hearing locations as case demand requires.

* Arbitrators can serve in multiple hearing locations, thus, these figures cannot be totaled to produce the overall number of arbitrators on the roster.
** These figures include the arbitrators designated on the Local Public Chair list.
*** These figures include the arbitrators designated on the Non-Local Public Chair list.

Special Arbitrator Roster

Arbitrator Pool Name Public Chairpersons Public Arbitrators Non-Public Arbitrators
Puerto Rico Bond Fund 229 792 793

Mediation Statistics Through March

Year Cases in Agreement Cases Closed (Percent Settled) Turnaround Time (in days)
2019 148 148 (86%) 95
2018 131 172 (72%) 144
2017 177 200 (83%) 116
2019 vs 2018 +13%  -14%  -34% 

F