In Re: CERY BRADLEY PERLE

I. Factual Background

Cery Bradley Perle filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code in 2001. Among Perle’s outstanding debts was a $350,000 arbitration award to Fiero Brothers, a New York securities dealer. The award was made in 1998 by a National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) arbitration panel, which found that Perle had committed securities fraud. Fiero Brothers was represented in the arbitration by a New York-based lawyer named Martin Russo, but Russo did not continue to represent Fiero Brothers in the matter after the arbitration. Instead, Fiero Brothers retained California counsel to confirm the award in the California Superior Court and to obtain an enforceable judgment against Perle. Russo did, however, continue to IN RE: PERLE

represent Fiero Brothers in other unrelated matters after the arbitration.

In his bankruptcy filing, Perle didn’t list Fiero Brothers or the $350,000 arbitration award as such on his Schedule E, a form on which a Chapter 7 debtor is required to list creditors with unsecured priority claims. Instead, he listed “NASD/NASD Regulation” as the creditor on the arbitration debt, and said…