Coconut Creek man wins arbitration against Morgan Stanley

From Herald Staff and Wire Services

Arbitrators ordered Morgan Stanley and a financial advisor in its Fort Lauderdale office to pay almost $60,000 to an 86-year-old Coconut Creek man.

Hyman Taitelman claimed he was persuaded to put more than $1 million in variable annuities after Morgan Stanley financial advisor Donald Horras claimed these were no-risk investments. Taitelman's attorney, Darren Blum, said his client lost about $250,000.

He sought $447,000 in damages on claims of negligence against Horras and negligent supervision against Morgan Stanley.

A panel of National Association of Securities Dealers found Morgan Stanley and Horras to be jointly liable and awarded Taitelman $59,167.17.'

'After hearing Mr. Taitelman's claim, the panel awarded a small fraction of the damages he sought,'' Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Andrea Slattery said. Taitelman was allowed to keep the annuities.

A variable annuity is a life insurance contract that includes a death benefit and makes regular payments to the policyholder during his lifetime. The policy's value and the payouts vary, depending upon how the policy's underlying investments perform.

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