In 2002, Wells Fargo dismissed an employee. The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), of which Wells Fargo is a member, requires members to provide a designated form when a registered employee is terminated. Wells Fargo filed the form in November 2002, noting that it terminated the employee for “violation of company policies by misrepresenting information in the sale of annuities, not being properly registered and firm procedures regarding annuity applications.”

In 2004, the president of a Hawaiian taxi company and 2004 Hawaii Small Business Person of the Year, Dale Evans, asked state officials to investigate reports of misconduct and possible illegal activities engaged in by another taxi company. Based on her assertion, the Hawaii Attorney General opened an investigation, found some minor wrongdoing and corrected the problems on site.

In August of 2008, the law firm Jones Day sued Chicago’s BlockShopper site, a site that reports on real estate transactions, often with descriptions of those buying and selling homes. Jones Day alleged trademark infringement and unfair trade practices based on Blockshopper’s use of Jones Day’s service marks, links to the Jones Day site and the use of its lawyers’ photos.