Opinion ID: 75971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: riccard i

Text: 5 In September 1997, Riccard sued Prudential for breach of contract, alleging among other things, that Prudential had violated their employment agreement by demoting him from sales manager to sales representative which resulted in his disability benefits being lower than they would have been had he not been demoted. Riccard v. Prudential Ins. Co., No. 97-1224-CV-ORL-19C (1997). On Prudential's motion the district court ordered the case to arbitration after both sides acknowledged that the plain language of a National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) 1 form agreement Riccard had signed during his employment gave Prudential the right to insist upon arbitration of their dispute. An NASD arbitration panel rejected Riccard's claims, and the district court confirmed the panel's decision. 6 Riccard later moved to overturn the district court order confirming the panel's decision on the ground that he had learned after the case had been sent to arbitration that Prudential was not a member of the NASD at the time. The district court denied Riccard's motion and a subsequent motion for reconsideration, and Riccard did not appeal that decision or the judgment entered in conformity with it.