Methods of Formal Dispute Resolution

What this video covers

• How a customer can compel FINRA arbitration without any signed pre-dispute arbitration agreement (PDAA), and why the firm lacks any power to refuse
• The insurance-business exception that removes a FINRA member's traditional insurance sales from arbitration jurisdiction, and why this matters for variable-contract boundary questions
• Why simplified arbitration uses one arbitrator for claims of $50,000 or less, and the exact dollar thresholds that push panel size to one or three arbitrators
• What the six-year eligibility rule actually means: FINRA will not administer a stale claim, but dismissal is not a statute-of-limitations death sentence for parallel court action
• Why FINRA arbitration awards are final and binding with no appeal on the merits, and the narrow vacatur grounds (bribery, bias, material concealment) required to challenge an award
• How mediation differs from arbitration: voluntary, non-binding, mediator as negotiator not decider, and any party may withdraw before settlement
• When litigation survives as an option: class actions, employment discrimination without post-dispute agreement, and whistleblower claims