Our Right to Publish This Record

I build websites for a living. I developed this one myself to put my family’s documented record where other families can find it. I alone wrote and published it. My mother has no part in it.

Telling the truth about your own experience with a financial firm, backed by documents, is something the law protects. This page explains the protections we rely on, how the site is built to stay within them, and how to raise a concern.

1. Truth. Truth is a complete defense to a defamation claim. It is enough that the substance of a statement is true. Every factual statement on this site links to the document, transcript line or court order it comes from, and most of those documents are Oppenheimer’s own.

2. Opinion, clearly labeled. Opinions based on facts disclosed to the reader are protected speech. Milkovich v. Lorain Journal Co., 497 U.S. 1 (1990) That is why every opinion here says “in our view” and sits next to the documents it is based on, so readers can reach their own conclusions.

3. Fair reports of official proceedings. Illinois protects fair and accurate reports of official proceedings, including court proceedings. Solaia Technology, LLC v. Specialty Publishing Co., 221 Ill. 2d 558 (2006) We report the arbitration and the federal case accurately, and we post the award and the federal court’s order in full, including every ruling that went against us.

4. Petitioning government and public participation. Illinois’s Citizen Participation Act protects acts in furtherance of the rights of petition, speech and participation in government that are genuinely aimed at getting government to act, such as the complaints to regulators described on this site. Since January 1, 2026, a court must stay a lawsuit while a motion under the Act is decided, and must award attorney’s fees to a defendant who wins that motion. 735 ILCS 110, as amended by Public Act 104-0431

5. Public records. The FINRA award and the federal court’s order are public records. Anyone can read them. We post them in full, so no one has to rely on our description.

6. Honest consumer reviews. Federal law voids form-contract terms that restrict a customer’s honest review of a business’s services or conduct. Consumer Review Fairness Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45b

• Every factual statement links to its source document.
• The rulings against us are posted in full, not summarized away.
• Opinions are labeled as ours and placed next to the documents they rest on.
• We do not say that any tribunal found wrongdoing. None did, and we say so.
• We do not publish settlement communications, documents covered by a confidentiality order or agreement, account numbers, dates of birth or other personal identifiers. Oppenheimer stamped its document production “CONFIDENTIAL,” but the arbitrator denied its demand for a confidentiality agreement, and many of these documents were filed publicly in federal court. 3/14/25 Order, Ruling 1
• We leave out the names of other investors unless they give us written permission.
• We describe conduct and let the documents speak. We do not use name-calling.