Jan 18 (Reuters) - A unit of insurance company Allianz SE must pay $3.25 million to one of its former brokers who alleged the firm bad-mouthed him to his clients, a securities arbitration panel ruled.

Thomas Gorter, a former broker for Questar Capital Corp, an independent broker-dealer subsidiary of Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, accused his firm of defamation and breach of contract, among other things, according to a ruling by a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority arbitration panel.

The FINRA panel found Questar liable and ordered it to pay Gorter $3.25 million in compensatory damages, according to the ruling, which was posted to FINRA's arbitration database on Wednesday. The panel did not include a reason for its decision, which is typical in securities arbitration rulings. Its award to Gorter also includes $49,000 in costs.

Brokers aren't often successful in defamation cases they file against brokerage firms, say lawyers. "It's an extremely rare occurrence," said Eric Hutner, a securities lawyer for Hutner Klarish LLP in New York.

"We strongly disagree with the FINRA arbitration award," Sara Thurin Rollin, a Questar spokeswoman, said in a statement. "Questar does not believe the ruling is supported by the facts of this case or the law," Rollin said.

Questar is considering options to have the arbitration award overturned, she said.

The FINRA panel did deny a request from Gorter to expunge a disclosure about his termination that Questar made in a regulatory filing.

Gorter's problems began in 2007, when Kentucky securities regulators conducted a compliance examination at his former firm, according to a statement of claim Gorter filed in the case.

Regulators learned that Gorter, who held two types of state securities licenses, did not have a third one he needed to promote himself as an investment adviser representative. Gorter relied on the company for compliance advice, he said, and thought he was properly licensed, according to the claim.

Questar told Gorter it would transfer his clients to a supervisor, until he became properly licensed, according to Gorter's statement of claim. But a dispute erupted about Gorter's handling of the paperwork. Gorter said his clients authorized him to change their agreements in order to transfer the accounts, according to his statement of claim. Questar, however, told regulators and Gorter's clients that he "forged documents," alleged Gorter.

The brokerage also urged clients to file complaints about Gorter with regulators and told them he "would never be in the business again," alleged Gorter.

Gorter, who filed the case in late 2008, originally sought $3 million, according to the ruling.

Questar filed a $10 million counterclaim against Gorter during the proceedings, which the FINRA panel denied according to the award document. A Questar spokeswoman said the company withdrew its counterclaim before the proceeding ended.

The case demonstrates that broker-dealers must be "fair and accurate" when filing required regulatory documents when brokers leave their firms, said a lawyer who represented Gorter. "It can be quite costly when they fail to meet that expectation," said David Cosgrove, of St. Louis.

(Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn)

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