(Reuters) – The legislation agency led by famed litigator David Boies seems to have engaged in some uncommon litigation ways on behalf of FTX crypto trade customers who accuse NFL quarterback Tom Brady, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, comic Larry David and different celebrities of inducing them to open FTX accounts.
This story ventures deep into the weeds of federal courtroom submitting procedures, however the upshot is that Boies’ agency, Boies Schiller Flexner, and co-counsel from The Moskowitz Regulation Agency filed three completely different however clearly associated FTX lawsuits in the identical federal courtroom in Miami with out asking the courtroom to consolidate the instances earlier than only one choose.
The instances have been assigned to a few completely different Miami federal judges earlier than the judges realized they have been associated. Final week, U.S. District Decide Michael Moore of Miami entered an order consolidating the lawsuits and clarifying that he’ll oversee the litigation.
That was apparently not what the Boies and Moskowitz corporations have been hoping. In mid-November, the corporations filed the primary of their three FTX lawsuits in federal courtroom. The go well with, a category motion on behalf of FTX accountholders within the U.S., alleged that FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and celeb endorsers violated Florida securities and shoppers legal guidelines by selling the FTX yield-bearing accounts as a protected strategy to put money into cryptocurrencies.
I’ll pause right here to level out that legislation agency Latham & Watkins, which is representing Brady, Bundchen and David, declined to touch upon the instances. Bankman-Fried counsel Mark Cohen of Cohen & Gresser didn’t reply to a question. I additionally didn’t obtain a response from the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, which can be named as a defendant.
As you might be probably conscious, Boies is thought for high-profile issues, together with his illustration of Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore within the U.S. Supreme Court docket case that determined the election of 2000. Extra not too long ago he has represented Jeffrey Epstein accusers together with Virginia Giuffre.
On the official type that accompanied Boies Schiller’s FTX lawsuit, which is called a canopy sheet, the Boies and Moskowitz corporations stated the FTX class motion was associated to a special class motion that the corporations are litigating on behalf of crypto traders who used the Voyager Digital Ltd platform. The Voyager case equally accuses a celeb crypto endorser – Dallas Mavericks proprietor Mark Cuban – of misleading promotion of a crypto funding. Cuban counsel Stephen Better of Brown Rudnick advised me he’s assured the category motion will likely be tossed, partially as a result of Voyager account holders didn’t depend on Cuban’s endorsement.
Presiding over that case is U.S. District Decide Roy Altman, who was a associate on the plaintiffs’ agency Podhurst Orseck earlier than becoming a member of the bench in 2019. He has but to rule on Cuban’s movement to dismiss the case, however in November decided that the Boies and Moskowitz corporations have been entitled to discovery from Cuban.
By asserting that the primary FTX go well with was associated to the Cuban case earlier than Altman, the Boies and Moskowitz corporations apparently hoped Altman would even be appointed to supervise the FTX class motion, though there was no overlap between the plaintiffs and defendants within the instances.
The courtroom as an alternative assigned the case to Moore, a George H.W. Bush appointee and former federal prosecutor, on the identical day it was filed.
On Nov. 21, the Boies and Moskowitz corporations filed a second FTX class motion, this time on behalf of non-U.S. FTX prospects. The quilt sheet stated the case was not associated to another continuing in Miami federal courtroom, though it talked about the Voyager class motion in a field the place such info might be listed. The quilt sheet didn’t confer with the case earlier than Moore.
The second go well with was assigned to U.S. District Decide Darrin Gayles.
On Dec. 7, the Boies and Moskowitz corporations filed a 3rd FTX class motion in federal courtroom in Miami, this time on behalf of all FTX prospects, out and in of the U.S. As soon as once more, the quilt sheet for the submitting didn’t point out the agency’s earlier (and really comparable) FTX fits. As soon as once more, the Voyager class motion confirmed up within the field for associated instances.
The third go well with was assigned to U.S. District Decide Beth Bloom. (Each Bloom and Gayles are former Florida state-court judges who have been appointed by former President Barack Obama).
The day after Bloom’s task to the case, the Moskowitz and Boies corporations voluntarily dismissed the 2 previously-filed FTX class actions earlier than Moore and Gayles. They then submitted an amended criticism within the case earlier than Bloom, including the lead plaintiffs from the opposite two now-dismissed fits.
These maneuvers appear to have caught Bloom’s consideration. She issued an order on Dec. 9, transferring the remaining class motion to Moore, who had been assigned the primary go well with filed by Moskowitz and Boies. Moore issued his order consolidating the litigation in his courtroom on the identical day.
I emailed Adam Moskowitz of the Moskowitz agency and 4 Boies Schiller attorneys, together with David Boies, to ask why they’d stated the primary FTX go well with was associated to the Voyager case and why they did not disclose that their second and third FTX fits have been associated to the primary class motion. Particularly, I requested in the event that they have been making an attempt to keep away from Moore and get the FTX litigation earlier than Altman, the choose overseeing the Voyager case.
Moskowitz stated in two e-mail responses that the corporations’ objective has all the time been to have all the federal instances consolidated earlier than one choose. (His agency and the Boies agency even have filed a number of instances in Florida state courts.)
“As we acquired extra instances, we filed extra instances,” Moskowitz stated. “We needed to verify to cowl all of those victims.”
Moskowitz stated the corporations “all the time attempt our greatest to finish all info on all courtroom kinds.” He and Boies attorneys, he stated, have been coordinating with protection counsel in each the state and federal FTX instances, regardless of the “completely different instances, completely different shoppers and completely different legislation corporations.”
Each the state and federal instances, Moskowitz stated, at the moment are sorted out and will likely be overseen by one choose in federal courtroom and one in state courtroom.
“After 4 weeks of arduous work, cooperation and coordination, together with with protection counsel, we’re completely happy to no less than have two avenues for all of these victims throughout the globe (in Florida state and federal courts),” Moskowitz stated. “It’s a good day for the victims.”
Boies attorneys didn’t reply past Moskowitz’s emails.
Learn extra:
FTX’s Bankman-Fried, Tom Brady and different celeb promoters sued by crypto traders
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