Judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit against Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce
LA judge refuses to dismiss lawsuit accusing Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and NBA Hall-of-famer Paul Pierce of touting now worthless crypto tokens in ‘pump and dump scam’
- Los Angeles Judge Michael Fitzgerald had rejected claims by the Kardashian’s attorneys that he should dismiss false advertising claims
- Kardashian allegedly shared posts saying EMAX would be accepted in certain nightclubs as payment for table reservations
- Fitzgerald labeled this “literally incorrect” and felt Kardashian was misleading in a new filing
A judge in LA has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Kim Kardashian, Floyd Mayweather and Paul Pierce of touting now worthless crypto tokens in a pump and dump scam.
The three celebrities are embroiled in the lawsuit over claims that they sold tokens through EMAX to inflate the price and make a profit “at the expense of their followers and investors.”
On Tuesday, Los Angeles District Judge Michael Fitzgerald rejected arguments from Kardashian’s attorneys that he should dismiss false advertising claims against her.
Kardashian allegedly shared social media posts saying that EMAX tokens would be accepted in certain nightclubs as payment for table reservations.
The judge said the investors made sufficient allegations that the reports were “literally false.” He also found a Kardashian post suggesting EMAX tokens were scarce was misleading.
Kardashian, pictured here in February, had been promoting the cryptocurrency EMAX on her Instagram story
In his 84-page ruling, Fitzgerald ruled that Mayweather could not be sued for expressing his “belief” about EMAX’s growth because it would be “typical unruly puffiness” and his comments had been “innocuous.”
Judge Michael Fitzgerald, pictured here, rejected arguments from Kardashian’s attorneys that he should dismiss false advertising claims
Despite this, investors who say they paid “excessive prices” for the digital asset will be given a chance to review and resubmit their claims that the former boxing champ failed to reveal that he was paid to promote EMAX.
Fitzgerald noted that attorneys for the investors “artfully cured” some flaws in their previous version of the complaint.
He cautioned that he is giving them one more chance to address remaining deficiencies in some of the claims or they will be dismissed for good.
In addition to targeting celebrity promoters, investors have sued several EMAX co-founders and consultants.
The original lawsuit was brought by a New York resident who bought EMAX tokens and lost money and was presented as a class action lawsuit.
In June 2021, Kardashian promoted the cryptocurrency Ethereum Max on her Instagram story.
Kardashian promoted the crypto on her Instagram story
Mayweather promoted EMAX on his boxing shorts during a highly-watched exhibition fight with YouTube star Logan Paul
Former NBA player Paul Pierce, pictured here, also promoted EMAX in a Twitter post
She wrote, “Are you crazy about crypto? This is not financial advice, just sharing what my friends just told me about the Ethereum Max Token!
“A few minutes ago, Ethereum Max burned 400 trillion tokens – literally 50% of their admin wallet gave back to the entire E-Max community.
Kardashian added the hashtag #AD, indicating that the post had been paid for.
Meanwhile, Mayweather promoted EthereumMax on his boxing shorts during a highly viewed exhibition fight with YouTube star Logan Paul in June.
The boxing match was streamed on Showtime and had up to 650,000 pay-per-view (PPV) purchases in the US alone.
On Tuesday, Fitzgerald said consumers could have concluded that Mayweather had a real interest in EMAX because he allowed his fight against Paul to be a launch pad for the tokens.
Former NBA player Paul Pierce also promoted EMAX in a Twitter post on May 26.
Pierce had tried to argue that his tweets were petty “puffery” and that no investor would reasonably have relied on them for financial advice.
Fitzgerald did caution that plaintiffs’ attorneys would have to explain precisely that the allegedly misleading celebrity promotion had affected EMAX values.
According to the judge, all known defendants gave no arguments to tip the balance in their favor.
Last October, Kardashian was ordered to pay $1.26 million in damages to the Securities and Exchange Commission after failing to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to promote the token.
She was also ordered by the SEC to stop promoting crypto for three years.
At the time, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said, “Federal securities laws are clear that any celebrity or other person promoting a crypto asset security must disclose the nature, source, and amount of compensation they received in exchange for the promotion.” .’