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2014 Dispute Resolution Statistics

Summary Arbitration Statistics December 2014

New Case Filings through December:

2012 4,299
2013 3,714
2014 3822
2014 vs 2013 3%

Number of Cases Closed through December:

2012 4,877
2013 4,498
2014 3,838
2014 vs 2013 -15%

Turnaround Time1 (in months) through December:

Year Overall Hearing Decisions Simplified Decisions
2012 14.4 16.6 7.1
2013 14.3 17.2 7.3
2014 14.8 18.1 7.8
2014 vs 2013 3% 5% 7%

1 The timing of the arbitration process is heavily influenced by Code of Arbitration Procedures time limits, the parties, and the panel.

Summary Mediation Statistics December 2014

Mediation Cases in Agreement through December:

2012 572
2013 482
2014 431
2014 vs 2013 -11%

Mediation Cases Closed through December:

Year Cases Closed Percent Settled
2012 776 79%
2013 558 79%
2014 551 80%
2014 vs 2013 -1%  

Turnaround Time (in Days) through December:

2012 100
2013 95
2014 103
2014 vs 2013 8%

 

Arbitration Cases Filed

Year Cases
1999 5,608
2000 5,558
2001 6,915
2002 7,704
2003 8,945
2004 8,201
2005 6,074
2006 4,614
2007 3,238
2008 4,982
2009 7,137
2010 5,680
2011 4,729
2012 4,299
2013 3,714
2014 3,822

 

Arbitration Cases Served by Controversy Involved

Type of Controversy1 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Margin Calls 83 80 68 55 83
Churning 270 236 245 238 212
Unauthorized Trading 397 288 313 260 242
Failure to Supervise 2,372 2,007 1,657 1,480 1,742
Negligence 2,698 2,249 1,941 1,715 1,993
Omission of Facts 1,941 1,603 1,355 1,243 1,394
Breach of Contract 2,184 1,904 1,573 1,418 1,779
Breach of Fiduciary Duty 3,162 2,589 2,216 1,873 2,106
Unsuitability 1,974 1,619 1,354 1,243 1,396
Misrepresentation 2,601 2,102 1,769 1,527 1,619

1 Each case can be coded to contain multiple controversy types. Therefore the columns in this table cannot be totaled to determine the number of cases served in a year.

Security Types Involved in Arbitration Cases

Type of Security1 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Corporate Bonds 239 179 124 92 70
Certificates of Deposit 41 31 31 38 39
Mutual Funds 863 652 392 308 378
Options 161 161 151 115 149
Common Stock 862 838 736 561 599
Limited Partnerships 80 104 70 84 86
Annuities 208 172 147 120 113
Preferred Stock 232 197 112 90 47
Variable Annuities 279 212 220 174 120
Derivative Securities 228 54 8 0 0
Auction Rate Securities 149 80 58 31 35

1 Each case can be coded to contain multiple security types. Therefore the columns in this table cannot be totaled to determine the number of cases served in a year.

Arbitration Cases Closed by Year

Year Cases
1999 4,767
2000 5,473
2001 5,582
2002 5,957
2003 7,278
2004 9,209
2005 9,043
2006 7,212
2007 5,345
2008 3,757
2009 4,571
2010 6,241
2011 6,099
2012 4,877
2013 4,498
2014 3,838

How Arbitration Cases Close

Cases Decided by Arbitrators 2010 (% of Cases) 2011 (% of Cases) 2012 (% of Cases) 2013 (% of Cases) 2014 (% of Cases)
After Hearing 1,143 (19%) 1,065 (18%) 895 (19%) 792 (18%) 683 (18%)
After Review of Documents 258 (4%) 211 (3%) 182 (4%) 236 (5%) 208 (5%)
Total 1,401 (23%) 1,276 (21%) 1,077 (22%) 1,028 (23%) 891 (23%)
Cases Resolved by Other Means 2010 (% of Cases) 2011 (% of Cases) 2012 (% of Cases) 2013 (% of Cases) 2014 (% of Cases)
Direct Settlement by Parties 3,139 (51%) 2,998 (50%) 2,414 (50%) 2,336 (52%) 1,942 (51%)
Settled Via Mediation 590 (10%) 594 (10%) 502 (10%) 315 (7%) 329 (9%)
Withdrawn 621 (10%) 708 (12%) 428 (9%) 482 (11%) 358 (9%)
All Others1 377 (6%) 464 (8%) 394 (8%) 297 (7%) 290 (8%)
Total 4,727 (77%) 4,764 (79%) 3,738 (78%) 3,430 (77%) 2,919 (77%)

1 All Other reasons for closed includes cases closed by: Stipulated Award, Bankruptcy of Critical Party; Uncured Deficient Claim; Forum Denied; Stayed by Court Action, etc. Note cases counted as closed in this report do not include those cases that closed and were then reopened.

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 Damages1
2009 669 21% 45% (304 cases)
2010 882 20% 47% (415 cases)
2011 670 16% 44% (297 cases)
2012 570 18% 45% (255 cases)
20132 499 18% 42% (212 cases)
2014 465 19% 38% (177 cases)

1 Percentage of customer claimant award cases reflects only instances in which investors as claimants recovered monetary damages or non-monetary relief.

2 In 2013, approximately 77 percent of customer claimant cases resulted, through settlements or awards, in monetary or non-monetary recovery for the investor.

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

Year Decided1 Cases Decided by All-Public Panels2 Percentage (and Number) of Cases Decided by 3 Public Arbitrators Where Customer Awarded Damages Cases Decided by Majority-Public Panels3 Percentage (and Number) of Cases Decided by 2 Public Arbitrators and 1 Non-Public Arbitrator Where Customer Awarded Damages
2011 13 54% (7 cases) 17 18% (3 cases)
2012 99 49% (49 cases) 111 33% (37 cases)
2013 128 43% (55 cases) 107 44% (47 cases)
2014 135 44% (59 cases) 104 38% (39 cases)

1 An all-public option for arbitration panels was implemented on Feb 1, 2011. Statistics reflect cases heard with awards from that point forward.

2 Three public arbitrators.

3 Two public arbitrators and one non-public arbitrator.

Arbitrators by Type

This report lists all available arbitrators by Non-Public and Public Type.

Arbitrator Type Total
Public 3,527
Non-Public 2,834
Total 6,361