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Atomic Wallet asks to toss suit over $100M hack saying it has ‘no US ties’

November 20, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Atomic Wallet asks to toss suit over 0M hack saying it has ‘no US ties’

The Estonia-based firm noted that only one plaintiff in the class action lawsuit is actually based in Colorado where the suit was filed.

The company behind Atomic Wallet has asked a United States court to dismiss a class action suit seeking damages from a $100 million hack arguing the claims should’ve been filed in Estonia where it's based.

In a Nov. 16 dismissal motion in a Colorado District Court the Estonian firm argued it has “no U.S. ties” and its end-user license agreement required all litigation against it be filed in its home country of Estonia.

Atomic also argued that only one user in Colorado was allegedly affected — which wasn

The firm also claimed the 5,500 allegedly affected Atomic users agreed to its terms of service which expressly disclaims liability for losses due to theft and limits damages to $50 per user

*Atomic’s motion to dismiss the class action laid against them. Source: PACER*

Atomic said the plaintiff’s negligence claims also lack legal merit because a legal duty was never created in which they were to maintain Atomic Wallet’s security and to protect against hacking.

"This Court has repeatedly rejected similar claims because Colorado recognizes no such duty,” it wrote.

Allegations of fraudulent misrepresentation were also struck down by the Estonian-based wallet provider.

The plaintiffs launched the class action in August, two months after a $100 million exploit on Atomic Wallet took place with up to 5,500 users affected — with both North Korean and Ukrainian groups blamed for the attack.

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Ryder Ripps ordered to pay Yuga Labs $1.6M in copyright lawsuit

October 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Ryder Ripps ordered to pay Yuga Labs .6M in copyright lawsuit

Anti-SLAPP Law

The NFT artists were also ordered to cover Yuga Labs’ legal fees after determining the trademark infringement constituted an “exceptional case.”

A United States district court judge has ordered nonfungible token (NFT) artists Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen to pay Bored Ape Yacht Club creator Yuga Labs a total of $1.57 million in disgorgement and damages, along with legal fees, bringing an end to the long-running “copycat” NFT lawsuit.

The Oct. 25 order follows an April 21 partial summary judgement granted in favor of Yuga Labs after the firm claimed that Ripps and Cahen, the defendants, violated copyright laws by making copycat versions of its Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collectibles.

District court Judge John Walter awarded Yuga Labs $1.37 million after concluding the NFT firm was entitled to a disgorgement of the defendants’ profits. An additional $200,000 was awarded in statutory damages relating to cybersquatting violations.

Yuga Labs v. Ryder Ripps et al - Notes from the Court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law

Yuga is awarded $1,375,362.92 in Ds profits, $200,000 in statutory damages, and attorneys' fees and costs (amount TBD). A permanent injunction is also issued against Ds.

1/ pic.twitter.com/2dTiuWpZSA
— NeerMcD.eth (@NeerMcD) October 26, 2023

Yuga Labs has also been entitled to recover attorney fees and costs from the NFT artists after the judge determined the trademark infringement constituted an “exceptional case.”

“A trademark case is generally considered exceptional for purposes of awarding of attorneys’ fees when a party has taken positions that can be characterized as “malicious, fraudulent, deliberate or willful,” the judge noted.

Judge Walter also knocked back the defendants’ argument that the copycat BAYC versions were “satire” and “parody” — ruling that the defendants intentionally infringed Yuga’s BAYC trademarks with a bad faith intent to profit from them.

He also noted the defendants continued to market and promote their copycat BAYC versions after the partial summary judgement was delivered against them in April.

Yuga Labs filed the lawsuit against the two artists in June 2022.

In an Oct. 16 hearing in a United States appeals court, Ripps and Cahen’s lawyers tried to argue the lawsuit should be thrown out on the grounds of free speech under California’s anti-SLAPP statute. However, the three-judge panel didn’t appear persuaded by the lawyer’s arguments.

BAYC is one of the most valuable NFT collectibles on NFT marketplace OpenSea.

*BAYC collectibles currently listed on OpenSea. Source: OpenSea*

Since April 2021, it has amassed 1.32 million Ether (ETH) or $2.38 billion in trading volume with an average floor price of 27.4 ETH ($49,200), according to OpenSea.

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