Skip to content Skip to sidebar Skip to footer
Something a bit weird occurred in Houston, TX a couple weeks ago. A clear and concise broker complaint, wrongful termination, and loan repayment case was dismissed – not on the merits, but rather as a matter of procedure.
The specifics leave more questions than answers and probably accelerates further litigation from the advisor at the center of the decision.
“Kimberly Ripoll, who worked at RBC’s Sugar Land, Texas branch for five years until her termination in May, filed a wrongful termination, breach of contract and failure to supervise claim in Finra arbitration in July against the firm and a broker in the office.”

“In addition to treating her as an underling, “RBC created a toxic work environment through its failure to adequately staff the Sugar Land branch office, and its inadequate hiring, training, and supervisory practices,” the claim said. She sought to retain the $226,790.27 owed on her two promissory notes plus damages of about $15,000 per month for lost pay and benefits since her May 10 termination, and unspecified medical expenses and mental anguish damages.”

“A three-person Finra arbitration panel in Houston on Thursday granted RBC’s motion to dismiss her claims “in their entirety” on the grounds that Ripoll and the firm had no agreement to resolve disputes in arbitration, according to an award statement published on Thursday.”

Wait… no agreement to resolve disputes in arbitration? This should trigger every RBC advisor thats been recruited there in the past decade to closely evaluate their loan documentation. Arbitration is the obvious gold standard in the industry to avoid ‘long in the tooth’ civil litigation.

So what in the world happened here? We aren’t entirely sure, but you can bet that a Texas court is about to find out – and RBC would probably do well to settle this thing before the potential truth of what happened to a female advisor comes to light. Generally (besides the sordid tales of Ami Forte), when a female advisor comes forward in what remains a male dominated profession, heads roll.

Be careful what you wish for here RBC.

Brokerchalk © 2024. All rights reserved.