Tarulli v. Ameriprise Financial Services

Background

Bart J. Tarulli filed a petition asking the court to vacate an arbitration proceeding conducted through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc. moved to dismiss the petition.

Court’s analysis

The court adopted Judge Wang’s Report and Recommendation, which concluded that Tarulli’s petition was untimely. The court explained that objections to a magistrate judge’s recommendation generally receive a fresh review on the disputed portions, but general or conclusory objections are reviewed only for clear error.

The court rejected Tarulli’s newly raised assertions that he had verified and served the petition before the relevant February 2019 dates. It described those assertions as unsupported, inconsistent with his earlier arguments, and untimely. The court also found that his other objections were conclusory and general and that he did not identify any error—much less clear error—in Judge Wang’s decision.

Disposition

Judge Lewis J. Liman granted Ameriprise’s motion to dismiss at Docket No. 6, dismissed the petition as untimely, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case. The order did not decide whether the arbitration should be vacated on its underlying merits.