Protecting Senior Citizens

The Law Offices of Montgomery G. Griffin has often represented senior citizens in arbitration actions to recover investment losses. Our clients have included widows, widowers, Alzheimer’s victims, and residents of care facilities, among others. Simply put, senior citizens tend to fare very well before securities arbitration panels in actions against Wall Street firms, large banks, and other financial institutions. This is true primarily for one important reason: stockbrokers and financial advisors should not expose the vast majority of retirement savings of senior citizens to risky investments. Stated differently, when a senior citizen has incurred losses which represent a substantial portion of their account value in reliance on the recommendations made by their financial advisor, they may have a strong case against the brokerage firm which can result in a recovery of some, or all, of their losses.

Elder Abuse Lawyer / Recoveries Can Include "Treble (triple) Damages"

In California, certain laws specifically address financial abuse of seniors.  The penalties against wrongdoers can be severe. For example, actions under section 3345 of the Civil Code can be brought only by, or on behalf of, senior citizens or disabled persons to redress unfair or deceptive acts or practices or unfair methods of competition. This law further provides that where a trier of fact, including a jury or an arbitration panel, finds that a senior citizen is substantially more vulnerable than other members of the public to a defendant’s conduct because of age, poor health, or restricted mobility, among other things, they can recover an amount “up to three times greater” (quoting the statute) than the amount otherwise allowed. 

Other states, too, have similar “Elder Abuse” statutes which can substantially enhance the recovery made by a senior citizen against a brokerage firm or financial institution.