New York, May 29: As regulators bring charges against former Merrill Lynch & Co. analyst Phua Young for allegedly issuing tainted research, Young hopes to win tens of millions of dollars from Merrill in his own suit. Young, who was bullish on troubled conglomerate Tyco International Ltd. since the early 1990s, is seeking $60 million for lost compensation and defamation in a wrongful termination suit. Young will also seek a still undetermined amount for punitive damages.
"This is a person that did what he was hired to do, worked hard, had glowing reviews and was ultimately treated unfairly," said Christopher Wilson, an attorney at Hughes, Hubbard, & Reed LLP.
Young filed an arbitration claim with securities regulator NASD after being fired by Merrill in April 2002 for issuing Tyco research without first passing it through the proper internal channels.
On Wednesday, the NASD -- previously known as the National Association of Securities Dealers -- filed five charges against Young that include issuing misleading and exaggerated research on Tyco.
Bureau Report