A 27-year-old truck driver won $30,000 from Robinhood for its decision to halt meme-stock buying last year

• A 27-year-old truck driver won his case against Robinhood for its pause of meme-stock buying last January.
• Jose Batista will receive nearly $30,000 in repayment from Robinhood, FINRA ruled.
• The ruling is the first of its kind to side with a Robinhood user over its restriction of meme-stock trading last January.

A 27-year-old truck driver just won his case against Robinhood for halting meme-stock buying almost one year ago.

An arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority $4 of truck driver Jose Batista and said Robinhood owed him $29,460.77 in damages for its decision to restrict buying of certain stocks on January 28, 2021.

The arbitration ruling in favor of a retail trader affected by the buying halt is the first of its kind, $4 from New York-based law firm Iorio Altamirano LLP, which represented Batista. In November, a $4 a class-action lawsuit brought by retail traders claiming the commission-free trading app and market maker Citadel Securities conspired in halting meme-stock buying.

"This award is a monumental and historic win for retail investors – particularly younger, self-directed investors – like those who use Robinhood's platform and which the firm targeted to fuel its growth," attorney Jorge Altamirano said in a press release.

Robinhood declined to comment on the case.

Batista said he was planning on selling shares of headphone-maker Koss and clothing retailer Express the day Robinhood paused buying of those companies along with GameStop, AMC, and others. But, $4 no one could buy shares.

"On a broader scale, the award offers hope to the thousands of Robinhood users who may now see a potential road to recovering their losses," Altamirano said.

On Reddit, retail investors cheered the decision. $4 on the topic had nearly 30,000 upvotes, and Redditors said they had filed their complaints with the law firm to be reviewed. "Don't we all have a case?" asked one Redditor.

Robinhood paused meme-stock buying a year ago amid an unprecedented rally in shares of certain companies. Following the action, outraged retail traders flooded the app with one-star Google reviews, said they'd stop using the platform, and called for legal action. The halt also prompted a report from the US Securities and Exchange Commission and $4.

In response, Robinhood has $4 its customer support and eliminated a feature criticized for gamifying investing.