James French v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., a Corporation, R. James French v. Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., a Corporation, Defendant

784 F.2d 902 54 USLW 2536 James FRENCH, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., a corporation, Defendant-Appellee. R. James FRENCH, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH, INC., a corporation, Defendant- Appellant. Nos. 85-1653, 85-1702. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Nov. 12, 1985. Decided March 6, 1986. Robert Charles Friese, Anthony B. Levin, Shartsis, Friese & Ginsburg, San Francisco, Cal., for plaintiff-appellant. W. Reece Bader, William Riley, Anne Bookin, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, San Francisco, Cal., for defendant-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Before GOODWIN, NELSON and CANBY, Circuit Judges. NELSON, Circuit Judge: 1 This appeal stems from a decision rendered by a duly constituted Arbitration Panel ("Panel") of the Pacific Stock Exchange ("PSE"), holding Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. ("Merrill Lynch") liable to R. James French ("French"), for negligent misrepresentation in connection with French's sale of option contracts to a Merrill Lynch broker. The Panel awarded French…