Top Ships Inc (TOPS)

[keekee]

Some Nasdaq market makers have also worked improperly
together in this way to fill customer orders or to reduce
inventory exposure.-[60]- In such cases, a market maker
having a sizeable customer order or an inventory imbalance called
upon other market makers to coordinate their quotations and
transactions with the requesting market maker. The fact that a market maker used these arrangements when engaged in buying or selling securities for a customer was typically not disclosed and may have violated the duties owed by the market maker to its customer.

Such undisclosed collaboration can injure the interests of
both retail and institutional investors. A market maker
representing a customer order is required to obtain the most
favorable terms for its customer that are available under the
circumstances. See, e.g., Opper v. Hancock Securities (Supplied by us: Opper v. Hancock Securities Corporation, 250 F. Supp. 668 (S.D.N.Y. 1966)).