$200,000 FINRA case dismissed.

We obtained dismissal of a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) case in which the claimant was seeking in excess of $200,000 in damages. The dismissal was based upon FINRA’s rule setting forth a six-year eligibility period in which a claim may be arbitrated. The claimant made the investments at issue in 2015 but did not file his Statement of Claim until 2022. Claimant’s counsel argued that the “trigger date” for eligibility was in 2018, which is the date the claimant learned of an alleged Ponzi scheme involving the investments. We argued that the eligibility period began on the date of the investments in 2015. The three-member panel of arbitrators unanimously agreed with our position. Motions to dismiss are rarely granted because FINRA encourages its arbitrators to allow claimants the opportunity to present their case on the merits at an evidentiary arbitration proceeding.