British judge dismisses lawsuit for buried Bitcoin hard drive worth $770 million
James Howells lost his case in the lawsuit to reclaim a Bitcoin hard drive worth $770 million from a landfill because the judge ruled that there was no realistic chance of success.
James Howells, an IT engineer from Newport, Wales, lost the legal battle to recover a hard drive containing Bitcoin worth over $770 million.
The Bitcoin hard drive was mined in 2009, was mistakenly discarded, and ended up in a landfill. The Newport City Council has denied access to the landfill due to environmental permitting restrictions.
In the latest development, Judge Keyser, a District Court commercial judge in Wales, dismissed Howells' lawsuit seeking to access the Newport landfill to retrieve his hard drive, according to a report on January 9 by the BBC.
Keyser stated that the lawsuit "has no realistic prospect" of success in a full trial.
Since 2013, Howells has repeatedly requested the council to allow access to the site, while also offering to share a portion of the lost Bitcoin if the hard drive is found.