Opinion ID: 787197
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Buttars' Claim.

Text: 3 Daljit and Paramjit Buttar, who are husband and wife, are residents of Raleigh, North Carolina. Daljit Buttar (hereafter Dr. Buttar) is a physician specializing in neurology, and is currently in solo practice. 4 Dr. Buttar has assumed sole responsibility for managing his family's finances. In 1999, he happened to meet Vivek Verma, a stockbroker based in New York City, at a social event in North Carolina. At this event, and in a series of subsequent telephone calls, Dr. Buttar and Verma discussed the Buttar family's current investments and future investment goals. In July 1999, Verma persuaded Dr. Buttar to open the first of a series of investment accounts at the firm for which he worked, Montrose Capital Management (Montrose). The application signed by Dr. Buttar when he opened this account contains the following provision: 5 All controversies which may arise between us concerning any transaction, or the construction, performance or breach of this or any other agreement between us, whether entered into prior, on, or subsequent to the date hereof, shall be determined by arbitration in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act to the fullest extent permitted by law. The arbitration shall be determined only before and in accordance with the rules then in effect of either the New York Stock Exchange, Inc., or the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. or any other exchange or self-regulatory organization of which [Montrose is] a member as I may elect. The award of the arbitrators, or of the majority of them, shall be final.... 6 We note that, immediately preceding the arbitration clause, the application sets forth the following understanding in bold lettering: The arbitrator's award is not required to include factual findings or legal reasoning and any party's right to appeal or to seek modification of rulings by arbitrators is strictly limited. 7 Soon after opening this initial account, Dr. Buttar also began to discuss his investments with Robert Winston. Winston's actual responsibilities at Montrose are not entirely clear from the record, but Dr. Buttar testified that Winston talked to me like he was the owner of the firm. Verma himself testified that while he worked at Montrose he was under the impression that Winston ran the firm. 8 Verma and Winston successfully urged Dr. Buttar to make substantial investments in the securities of two firms: (1) Skynet Holdings, Inc. (Skynet) and (2) CNF Technologies (CNF). Dr. Buttar was also persuaded to provide a bridge loan to CNF in the amount of $150,000.00. Eventually, Dr. Buttar alleges, Montrose had invested virtually all of [his] liquid assets in CNF and Skynet. It is undisputed that Dr. Buttar suffered substantial losses as a result. 9