Arbitration award bodes ill for big bank

Bank of America's hurried 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch continues to plague the bank and its stockholders.

The latest hiccup comes courtesy of Mike Taaffe, a Sarasota attorney. Taaffe recently discovered a cottage industry representing Merrill Lynch brokers who claim they were cut out of deferred compensation and stock awards they were entitled to when they left the firm after the sale. Taaffe, a business litigation attorney with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, specializes in disputes between firms and departed brokers.

And the Merrill Lynch departures are a doozy.