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January 26, 2021 at 09:54 AM
An independent broker-dealer and The Ohio National Life Insurance have agreed to end federal litigation in Massachusetts over one part of a dispute over annuity producer compensation.
The broker-dealer, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC, and Ohio National filed a joint stipulation of dismissal Jan. 21 with the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.
Commonwealth Equity and Ohio National said in the joint stipulation that they have agreed that “this action shall be dismissed, with prejudice, and with all rights of appeal waived. Each party shall bear its own costs and attorneys’ fees.”
(Related: District Court Rules Against Advisors in Ohio National Commission Cases)
Dismissing the action “with prejudice” would keep either party from reviving the dispute.
The federal case in Massachusetts is part of the litigation that resulted in 2018, when Ohio National decided to stop selling variable annuities and said it would stop paying trail commissions to the agents and brokers who sold the variable annuities.
The lawyers representing the agents have been trying to use a portion of the selling agreement between the agents and Ohio National, and Federal Industry Regulatory Authority rules, to move the proceedings into arbitration.
