Lee v. First Union National Bank

In this appeal we must determine whether a securities broker’s fraudulent activity, in connection with his handling of client funds intended for the purchase of a security, subjects him and the bank and brokerage firm that employed him to liability under the Consumer Fraud Act (CFA or Act), N.J.S.A. 56:8-1 to -106. Our analysis of that issue necessitates consideration of three distinct arguments advanced by the parties: whether the sale of securities is included in the CFA’s definition of “merchandise”; whether there is a distinction between the purchase of a security and the purchase of the…