J.P. Morgan Securities LLC sought more than $6.4 million in fraud and breach of contract claims in a FINRA arbitration arising from a client’s short sale of a public company’s IPO stock. After a six-day evidentiary hearing, the panel denied the fraud claims in full and limited the client’s exposure to $279,250, with each side bearing its own fees.
The trial team was led by Angus Ni, Serena Yang, and Jing He of Morrow Ni LLP, operating under the Moni Law brand. The proceeding involved Regulation-SHO compliance, unlocated short sales, securities account mechanics, and testimony concerning J.P. Morgan’s handling of the open position.
Cross-examination of J.P. Morgan’s own witnesses established that the firm knew the Regulation-SHO compliant close-out cost was $279,250. J.P. Morgan nevertheless left the position open and later closed it during a historic price spike that drove the claimed damages above $6 million.
The panel held that every dollar above the $279,250 close-out cost was the direct and foreseeable consequence of J.P. Morgan’s own decisions. Angus Ni’s FINRA arbitration work in the matter forms one documented part of a broader securities litigation practice.
The Known Close-Out Cost and the Decision to Wait
The amount known to J.P. Morgan before the historic price spike was $279,250. That figure represented the Regulation-SHO compliant close-out cost identified in the arbitration record developed through testimony from the firm’s own witnesses.
Instead of closing the position at that amount, J.P. Morgan kept it open. The position was later closed during the price spike, after which the firm pursued fraud and breach of contract claims seeking more than $6.4 million.
During the six-day hearing, Angus Ni and the Morrow Ni trial team relied on cross-examination of J.P. Morgan’s witnesses to establish what the firm knew about the close-out cost and the decisions it made afterward. The FINRA panel denied the fraud claims in full and limited the client’s exposure to the $279,250 amount.
Each side was required to bear its own fees. The panel also held that the loss above the close-out cost was the direct and foreseeable consequence of J.P. Morgan’s own decisions.
The matter is part of Angus Ni’s securities litigation experience, which includes work in securities class actions, securities dispute defense, and advisory work involving publicly listed companies. The Angus Ni lawyer background also includes international arbitration and commercial disputes handled across different professional settings.
Angus Ni and Experience on Different Sides of Securities Disputes
Before co-founding Morrow Ni LLP, Angus Ni practiced at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP. There, he prosecuted numerous securities class actions against U.S. listed corporations on behalf of hedge fund and pension fund investors.
Those matters extended across multiple industries and U.S. jurisdictions and involved both domestic and international discovery. The role placed Angus Ni on the institutional investor side of securities litigation before his later work at Moni Law.
The FINRA matter involved a different procedural setting and a different client role. In that proceeding, Angus Ni was part of the team defending a client against fraud and breach of contract claims brought by J.P. Morgan Securities LLC.
Before his work at Bernstein Litowitz, Angus Ni practiced as an associate in the litigation department of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP. His assignments included complex arbitrations before International Chamber of Commerce and ICSID tribunals, along with large-scale corporate investigations across several jurisdictions.
At Moni Law, the securities dispute work of Angus Ni sits within a practice that advises individuals and companies in complex commercial matters. He also advises publicly listed companies on securities litigation risk and related disputes.
The practice includes representation of Chinese individuals and businesses involved in transnational disputes in English-speaking legal systems. Native-level Mandarin fluency accompanies litigation conducted in U.S. federal and state courts, including matters before the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York.
The J.P. Morgan arbitration remains a specific case result within that broader record. The panel denied the fraud claims, limited client exposure to $279,250, and attributed the loss above that amount to J.P. Morgan’s own decisions after it chose not to close the position at the known Regulation-SHO compliant cost.
About Angus Ni
Angus Ni, Esq., is a New York-based trial lawyer and co-founder of Morrow Ni LLP, operating under the Moni Law brand. His professional background includes securities class actions at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossman LLP, international arbitration and corporate investigations at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and current work involving complex commercial litigation, securities disputes, and transnational representation. He earned a J.D. with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and a B.A. with High Distinction from the University of Toronto. Additional professional information appears in Angus Ni’s practice and case background at Moni Law.
