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Representation
for Claims of Damages
Winheller Attorneys at Law advise and represent private and
institutional investors who have suffered damages. We are committed
to obtaining compensation for financial damages caused by faulty
advice or fraudulent activity. We represent our clients in cases
against banks, insurance agencies, investment advisors, investment
brokers, asset administrators, general brokers, promoters of
investment products, and other advisors and providers of financial
services. We also target publicly-traded companies which provide
erroneous information to stockholders. We generally proceed
at first by pursuing a resolution of the case outside the court
system. Of course, we will also vigorously pursue legal redress
in appropriate cases.
Faulty Advice and Erroneous Information
Investors who suffer painful losses with their investments are
often hesitant to blame others for the resulting damages - they
blame themselves instead. However, there is no genuine reason
for this in typical investment-advice cases. Investment advisers
are, for instance, required to fulfill comprehensive advisory
duties. If they do not fulfill these duties, they are generally
required to answer for resulting damages. If investors suspect
that they have been mistakenly advised or informed, they should
always seek advice to determine whether they have claims for
compensation of losses suffered. This is especially true in
cases of investment fraud in which "advisors" behave criminally
and convince clients about the investment by means of fraudulent
misrepresentations. The investor should not - or at least, not
exclusively - take the blame for 'falling for' the salesman's
empty promises. Fraud is a crime under German law and is, in
fact, defined precisely by the fact that the criminal has committed
fraud by trickery. To take sole blame for financial damages
in this situation would mean exchanging the role of criminal
and victim, and giving wrongdoers a blank check to continue
their behavior.
Individual Proceedings and "Class Actions"
In general, class actions are not as widely available under
German law as under American law. However, to the extent possible,
we will combine actions against the opposing side along with
other injured parties by means of a special kind "class action"
(the so-called "investor class action exemplary proceeding")
provided for under German law. Such a proceeding saves costs,
since fees can be split among several parties. Of course, we
will also represent your interests in individual proceedings
if, for any reason, it is not possible to maintain a class action-style
proceeding.
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Independent
Counsel
