Financial services litigation involves civil, criminal, and/or administrative claims and investigations against entities and individuals which concern money and financial transactions.
This includes banks, mortgage lenders, consumer finance companies, credit card companies, payment processing and multi-currency service firms, credit unions, brokerage firms and funds, including hedge and private equity funds, and insurance companies, among others.
The financial services litigation covers the defense of class actions or significant single plaintiff suits on behalf of mortgage lenders and servicers, credit card issuers and other providers of consumer credit.
Financial services litigation
From credit and investments, right through to tax and pensions, the sheer scale, complexity, value and regulatory environment of the financial services sector, make disputes unavoidable and financial services litigation inevitable.
Typical financial services disputes
A financial services dispute is a legal conflict concerning a financial product, service, or provider.
Financial mis-selling claims
This dispute can arise when a group or individual believes they were misled, not informed about the risks, sold an unsuitable or insufficient product for their requirements, or given incorrect advice by a financial services provider.
Examples include cases of mis-selling bonds, investments, insurance, loans, pension transfers, and interest rate swaps.
Trustee disputes
This involves conflicts between individual trustees or disputes between trustees and investors.
For instance, it can encompass claims related to mismanagement of pension schemes or investments and conflicts of interest.
Regulatory disputes
These conflicts may emerge between a financial services provider and an industry regulator, such as the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), Pensions Ombudsman, or Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Professional Negligence Claims
This type of dispute can occur between a group or an individual and a financial adviser or tax adviser.
In this case, the claimant believes they’ve received subpar advice. For instance, this might involve negligent advice concerning an investment or tax mitigation scheme.
Contratual disputes
This type of dispute can occur between an individual or group and a financial services provider. The disputes may range from administrative errors with significant financial repercussions to failures by the provider to provide correct returns.