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LOM broker never complained about account merger

The woman being sued by Lines Overseas Management Ltd for over $100,000 in unpaid loans did not complain to her former boss that two accounts she held with the firm had been merged, it was revealed yesterday in Supreme Court.

Former LOM stockbroker Carol Green, admitted in Supreme Court under cross examination by Juliana Jack for LOM that she did not complain to Scott Lines, general manager of LOM, that accounts had been merged.

Ms Green, who was a stock broker for 20 years and worked for LOM between 1995 and 1997, is being sued by LOM for $110,643.26 plus interest for debts she allegedly ran up on two "margin accounts".

A margin account is a type of account where the client buys stocks partly with his or her own cash and partly with money borrowed from the brokerage firm and the stocks bought are used as collateral.

LOM claims that she ran up debts of up to $419,000 in cash overdraft in both accounts and when they requested she inject cash into them they claim she only paid $35,000.

LOM claims the two accounts, Carol Green and CMG Ltd., which are the accounts involved in the dispute are both personal and interchangeable, which is why they closed one account, CMG Ltd., after she left.

They sold stock in both accounts to cancel out the debts and moved all activity to the Carol Green account, leaving over $100,000 in debt.

And in cross-examination yesterday Ms Jack put it to Ms Green that if she had made a complaint about the handling of her accounts to Mr. Scott Lines, both accounts would not have been merged.

Ms Green said during the situation between her and Mr. Scott Lines had deteriorated so much that they were no longer on speaking terms. She also claimed he did not return her calls.

Ms Green claims the Carol Green account was her personal account, and that GMG Ltd. was a limited liability company that she had set up in Bahamas of which she has a ten percent interest and money was moved from this account without her permission.

LOM is suing Ms Green for unpaid money, and both Scott Lines, managing director and his brother Brian Lines, president of LOM, have taken the stand to testify to the amount of money run up in the accounts and they both allege they repeatedly asked for her to pay money into the accounts.

Ms Green's lawyer, however, has issued a counter-claim in the Supreme Court which Ms Green is suing for damages for breech of contract, wrongful withdrawal of money from her account and constructive dismissal. She also claims Brian Lines assaulted her.

She has also claimed in court that her accounts were mismanaged and charges levied that were wrong on the accounts and money taken from the account without authorisation.

The court has heard that on January 22, 1997, she and Mr. Lines had an altercation in the LOM offices which led to her leaving the office and working from home.

During that altercation she claims she was assaulted, which he denies.

She has claimed that when she left the office, one of her margin accounts was in the black, and has alleged that her accounts have been mishandled.

The case continues.