A California federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against reality TV star Kim Kardashian, boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr. and others about her role in promoting a cryptocurrency, saying it was unclear whether the investors who sued actually saw the promotions.
The lawsuit filed in January alleges that EthereumMax executives plotted with celebrity promoters to trick investors into buying the EMax token by raising its price and allowing them to sell their own tokens at a profit.
US District Judge Michael Fitzgerald in Los Angeles said investors can amend and refile their proposed class action.
The ruling comes as other celebrity promoters face lawsuits from users of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX, whose collapse has deepened an ongoing crypto winter.
Sean Masson, a lawyer representing investors in the EthereumMax case, said he plans to revise their claims to add “a number of additional facts demonstrating wrongdoing and liability of the defendants.”
Michael Rhodes, Kardashian’s lead attorney, said the defense is “satisfied with the court’s well-reasoned decision.”
Mayweather’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Also named in the lawsuit was former National Basketball Association star Paul Pierce.
Kardashian promoted EthereumMax in a June 2021 Instagram post, and Mayweather wore the company’s logo on his boxing shorts during a widely viewed fight, investors said.
In Wednesday’s ruling, Fitzgerald said investors failed to show that executives and promoters planned to mislead investors rather than act in their own best interest.
The investors’ allegations of fraud failed because they failed to declare if or when they saw the promotions, the judge wrote.
While investors can review those claims, Fitzgerald has permanently dismissed his claim under California’s consumer protection law, which he said applied to tangible goods and services, not “intangible goods” like cryptocurrencies.
Kardashian agreed in October to pay the SEC $1.26 million to settle claims that she failed to disclose that she was paid to promote EthereumMax tokens. She did not admit wrongdoing.
Source: CNN Brasil
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