Chutzpah: Fired Broker demands $30 Million in Damages

If you ever wondered what chutzpah was – here’s a perfect case of it. Earlier this year Bear Stearns Cos. paid $250 million to settle charges the Wall Street firm aided in improper mutual-fund trading -- in some cases intentionally and in the face of numerous complaints from mutual funds. Now one of the employees fired amid the scandal is seeking $30 million from the brokerage firm in damages.

Mark Hurant, 58 years old, was fired by Bear in late 2003, not long after New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced his office's investigation of the mutual-fund industry, including market-timing issues. He found that many mutual funds allowed favored clients to conduct the short-term trading in mutual funds, often in violation of their own policies.

The firm, in a filing with regulators, said Mr. Hurant "was terminated" in connection with "his activities related to mutual-fund trading including the timing of mutual-fund trading and market-timing related conduct." Mr. Hurant maintains his market-timing business was done "with Bear Stearns's full knowledge, consent, support and assistance" and he says the black mark on his record has left him unemployable on Wall Street.

Mr. Hurant, in an arbitration claim filed last week with the National Association of Securities Dealers, is seeking $15 million in compensatory damages and $15 million in punitive damages, according to Jake Zamansky, a lawyer for Mr. Hurant. Bear Stearns, which neither admitted nor denied guilt in settling the regulatory charges for $250 million, declined to comment.

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