NEW YORK, March 31 (Reuters) – Elon Musk requested a U.S. decide on Friday to throw out a $258 billion racketeering lawsuit accusing him of operating a pyramid scheme to help the cryptocurrency Dogecoin.
In a night submitting in Manhattan federal court docket, legal professionals for Musk and his electrical automobile firm Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) known as the lawsuit by Dogecoin traders a “fanciful work of fiction” over Musk’s “innocuous and infrequently foolish tweets” about Dogecoin.
The legal professionals stated the traders by no means defined how Musk meant to defraud anybody or what dangers he hid, and that his statements equivalent to “Dogecoin Rulz” and “no highs, no lows, solely Doge” had been too imprecise to help a fraud declare.
“There’s nothing illegal about tweeting phrases of help for, or humorous photos about, a professional cryptocurrency that continues to carry a market cap of almost $10 billion,” Musk’s legal professionals stated. “This court docket ought to put a cease to plaintiffs’ fantasy and dismiss the criticism.”
In a footnote, the legal professionals additionally rejected the traders’ declare that Dogecoin certified as a safety.
The traders’ lawyer, Evan Spencer, stated in an e mail: “We’re extra assured than ever that our case will probably be profitable.”
Buyers accused Musk, the world’s second-richest particular person in keeping with Forbes, of intentionally driving up Dogecoin’s worth greater than 36,000% over two years after which letting it crash.
They stated this generated billions of {dollars} of revenue at different Dogecoin traders’ expense, whilst Musk knew the forex lacked intrinsic worth.
Buyers additionally pointed to Musk’s look on a “Weekend Replace” phase of NBC’s “Saturday Evening Dwell” the place, portraying a fictitious monetary professional, he known as Dogecoin “a hustle.”
The $258 billion damages determine is triple the estimated decline in Dogecoin’s market worth within the 13 months earlier than the lawsuit was filed.
Dogecoin Basis, a nonprofit, can be a defendant and searching for the lawsuit’s dismissal.
Musk’s posts on Twitter, which he owns, have prompted a number of lawsuits.
He gained a court docket victory on Feb. 3 when a San Francisco jury discovered him not answerable for tweeting in August 2018 that he had organized financing to take Tesla personal.
The case is Johnson et al v. Musk et al, U.S. District Court docket, Southern District of New York, No. 22-05037.
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Enhancing by William Mallard
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