The family of a novice stock trader who killed himself after mistakenly believing he lost more than US$700,000 (HK$5.46 million) are suing Robinhood Financial, claiming the stock-trading platform's business practices directly led to the young man's death.
The complaint, filed in Santa Clara County, California, seeks unspecified damages on behalf of the parents and sister of Alex Kearns for wrongful death, negligent infliction of emotional distress and unfair business practices. The suit comes after traders who banded together over social media platforms in recent weeks used Robinhood to make massive share purchases of GameStop, AMC Entertainment and other struggling companies that wealthy investors had bet against.
Kearns, a student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was 20 when he took his life last June. He had received e-mails from Robinhood, informing him that he was required to buy US$700,000 in shares as a result of an options trade, the lawsuit said. "Tragically, Robinhood's communications were completely misleading because, in reality, Alex did not owe any money," it added.
Kearns panicked and rode to a railroad crossing on his bicycle and ran in front of an oncoming train.
