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To: Handshake™ who wrote (20451)	11/16/1999 11:30:00 AM
From: john	Respond to of 25548

Ex-broker faces third lawsuit White Rock investor alleges Peter Miles and CIBC Wood Gundy mishandled her account. David Baines, Sun Business Reporter Vancouver Sun A third lawsuit has been filed against former CIBC Wood Gundy stockbroker Peter Miles, who got into hot water after recommending stock promoted by soon-to-be tabloid star Beverlee Kamerling. Patricia Wotherspoon of White Rock alleges in documents filed in B.C. Supreme Court that Miles and his firm mishandled her account from 1991 to this year. She claims the defendants entered into transactions without her knowledge or consent, invested in unsuitable and undesirable investments, and "churned" her account. (Churning is buying and selling securities to earn brokerage commissions, rather than to benefit the client.) Although not mentioned in the claim, one of the stocks that Miles recommended to Wotherspoon was International Indigo, a Seattle-based company promoted by Kamerling. Kamerling, who has an extensive regulatory record, was featured last week on the Oprah Winfrey show after she bought more than $31,000 US worth of Marilyn Monroe memorabilia and gave one of the items to a wheelchair-bound woman. While Oprah's audience was touched by her generosity, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission was not. Kamerling still owes the commission $1.5 million US arising from a settlement over another U.S. stock scam, United Fire Technology. After the show aired, the Star -- one of America's largest tabloids -- heard about Kamerling's appearance and is currently preparing a story that is scheduled to appear in supermarkets later this week. Assisting Kamerling in both the International Indigo and United Fire Technology promotions was West Vancouver promoter Nik Markovina. Markovina was also a client of Miles. In at least one instance, Miles sold Indigo shares directly from Markovina's account at CIBC Wood Gundy to the account of another client to whom he had recommended the stock. Miles later admitted that he had received at least two paintings from Markovina and hung them on his living room walls. Markovina acquired the paintings from Kamerling, who claimed they were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Miles said the paintings were "very ugly" and insisted there was no connection between his recommendation of Indigo stock and his receipt of the paintings. In her lawsuit against Miles and CIBC Wood Gundy, Wotherspoon alleges the defendants failed to disclose "the benefit received by one or more of the defendants" as a result of his stock recommendations. She asserts that, if CIBC Wood Gundy is not directly culpable, it is vicariously responsible for the actions of its employee. She claims damages, restitution, interest and costs. Miles worked as a broker for 16 years, the last eight with CIBC Wood Gundy. On July 26, his registration was terminated. The brokerage firm declined to say why. Wotherspoon's lawsuit was filed by lawyer Craig Dennis of Sugden McFee & Roos, who filed an almost-identical lawsuit against Miles and CIBC Wood Gundy on behalf of Teresa Barkwell of Richmond on Oct. 15. In an interview Monday, Barkwell said she first complained about Miles' conduct to the Investment Dealers Association of Canada in the spring of 1994, but was advised to try to resolve the matter with CIBC Wood Gundy. When that failed, she sent a written complaint to the IDA in July 1997. She said the IDA initially dragged its heels, but "appears to be taking the matter more seriously now." Meanwhile, in October 1998, a West Vancouver businessman filed a lawsuit against Miles and CIBC Wood Gundy for allegedly mishandling his account. The status of that case is not known.