Less than a week into the new year, a 27-year-old truck driver from Connecticut might have given Robinhood HOOD, 4.87% a whole new thing to be worried about in 2022.
On January 6, an arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority ruled that the zero-commission trading platform was liable for $29,460.77 in compensatory damages to Jose Batista, a retail investor who filed a complaint with the industry self-regulator in May, alleging that he had suffered significant investment losses due to Robinhood’s decision to restrict trading on certain meme stocks at the height of January 2021’s manic short squeeze.
The judgment is the first of its kind to end with Robinhood paying money to a retail investor stemming from its trading restrictions, and could provide a blueprint for other individual traders hoping to get relief from Robinhood.