“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set to face its first jury trial in April in what is shaping up to be a critical test of the agency’s authority … Ponist said he hoped to put the bureau’s Choke Point tactics on trial, and prove that the CFPB failed to provide Nationwide with the opportunity to respond to the allegations before it filed its lawsuit. “Our position is that it’s not fair, it’s just not right that the federal government came up with a way to pressure businesses that they do not like, for their own reasons, by putting pressure on their banking partners,” Ponist said. “Rather than giving companies their day in court, what they do instead is threaten [their bank partners] with subpoenas, an investigation, an audit, if they don’t comply.””

Representing multiple families, the Ponist Law Group alleged that a rogue broker of a securities broker-dealer, charged with managing the accounts of their clients, improperly churned the clients’ accounts, excessively traded the clients’ accounts and placed the clients in unsuitable investments. The Ponist Law Group was able to successfully negotiate a settlement for $2.2 million on behalf of their clients.

The Ponist Law Group represented a commercial real estate brokerage company, its designated broker, and its agent in a dispute in which plaintiff real estate investors alleged fraud, breach of fiduciary duties and conduct falling below the standard of care. After a two-week trial, the Ponist Law Group obtained a complete defense verdict, absolving their clients of any wrongdoing.