Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. must pay more than $1.1 million for personal losses suffered by a co-founder of Boston Market Corp. who accused the firm of excessive trading in his account, among other things.

A Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel in Denver ordered Oppenheimer, an investment firm subsidiary of Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. (OPY), to pay more than $1.1 million to investor Steven Kolow, who co-founded Boston Chicken, a restaurant in Newtown, Mass., in 1985. It would later expand to a restaurant chain, becoming Boston Market Corp. in 1995.

The ruling was a partial victory for Kolow, who requested more than $4 million in damages, according to a ruling dated Aug. 26. He also asked that Oppenheimer be required to repay profits it earned through "alleged excessive trading" in his account.

Kolow filed the case in July 2010, alleging breach of fiduciary duty, negligence and other wrongdoing. The claim involved purchases of certain stocks, including Alcoa Inc. (AA) and General Electric Co. (GE) and call options for those securities, according to the ruling.

An Oppenheimer spokesman said the firm "strongly disagrees" with the outcome. Kolow is an "experienced active investor," he said.

As is typical of most arbitration rulings, the panel didn't explain the reasons for its decision.

Lawyers for Kolow declined to comment, and efforts to locate Kolow weren't successful.

-By Suzanne Barlyn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2230; suzanne.barlyn@dowjones.com

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