Fund exec wins $12 million in arbitration

A former regional sales director at AllianceBernstein's mutual fund unit won a $12 million arbitration award last month. John Carl, who was director of mutual fund sales for the Northeast division of AllianceBernstein Investments Inc., won $10 million in damages against the firm and an additional $2 million in punitive damages. Notice of the arbitration award was released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. of New York and Washington. The arbitrators also ordered that a new U-5 termination report for Mr. Carl should read, “terminated without cause.” On his original U-5, AllianceBernstein had claimed that he was permitted to resign “in connection with market timing matters,” according to the award. The panel also ordered AllianceBernstein to pay the $63,400 in hearing fees. In December 2003, New York-based AllianceBernstein's predecessor firm, Alliance Capital, agreed to pay $250 million to its mutual fund shareholders in settling a market timing case brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. A spokesman for AllianceBernstein; the firm’s attorney Joseph Baumgarten, a partner at Proskauer Rose LLP in New York; and Mr. Carl's attorney, Jason Archinaco, a partner at White and Williams LLP in Pittsburgh, didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.