A former Ameriprise Financial broker won around $200,000 and expungement after a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel found the firm’s termination disclosure should be removed from her record.
Ameriprise had said it fired Brooke Pilant, a franchisee who had been registered for a decade, in 2024 due to “violation of policy related to safekeeping of confidential client information,” according to state regulators.
Three arbitrators awarded Pilant, who is registered with independent broker-dealer Cambridge Investment Research in Bartlett, Tennessee., $120,000 in compensatory damages and $80,000 in emotional distress, according to an award finalized on July 8.
Pilant in May 2025 filed her complaint accusing the firm of misrepresenting facts, defaming her and interfering with her business after she raised concerns about “unethical practices within Ameriprise,” according to the award.
She alleged the firm “turned against her, attempting to undermine her credibility, while jeopardizing her career,” and claimed defamation and tortious interference.
Ameriprise denied the allegations and cited “its right to free speech” predicated on “disclosing required facts about a registered representative and investment advisor representative” with regulators, according to the award.
A spokesperson for Ameriprise, which withdrew a counterclaim against Pilant, said it disagreed with the award.
“We are disappointed by the panel’s decision and disagree with certain aspects of its findings,” the spokesperson said in a statement. She added that the brokerage “remains committed to fostering a culture of integrity, professionalism and respect” and also takes “our regulatory reporting responsibilities seriously.”
Pilant’s lawyer, Benjamin Coulter of Burr & Forman in Birmingham, Alabama, said the arbitrators were persuaded because they showed evidence that Ameriprise’s communications were “very callous and calculated.” In addition, Pilant’s lawyer said she quit and was not fired.
Pilant had filed claims against another former Ameriprise broker in Cordova, Tennessee, who Coulter said had been her one-time partner, but she dismissed those claims in April.
Other defamation claims based on allegations on brokers’ termination forms have recently persuaded arbitrators to issue high-dollar defamation awards. JPMorgan Chase & Co. in June filed a motion to vacate an award that ordered the firm to pay $4.25 million in damages to a broker it fired over allegations that he improperly expensed a deli platter for a Super Bowl watch party.
The bank alleged that arbitrators exceeded their authority by awarding the broker damages that were “wholly untethered to any evidence or testimony.”