According to Cointelegraph, the plaintiffs in the EthereumMax (EMAX) investor class action lawsuit have been granted a final opportunity to amend their claims against the celebrities they accuse of promoting the now-defunct cryptocurrency. In an October 3 court order, United States District Court Judge Michael Fitzgerald stated that he is giving the EMAX investors a third and final chance to submit an amended complaint.
The class-action suit was filed against boxer Floyd Mayweather, NBA star Paul Pierce, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, and others in 2022 for allegedly promoting EMAX, which the suit labeled as a "pump and dump" scheme. The judge dismissed the suit last year but revived it again in June, refusing to throw out the plaintiffs' "unfair competition" claims against the celebrities. Four motions were addressed in the new order.
The court denied Mayweather's motion to dismiss the state consumer law claims, finding that the plaintiffs sufficiently alleged materiality and Mayweather's failure to disclose that he was a paid promoter. It also denied Pierce's motion to dismiss the state consumer law claims and manipulation claim, finding it was sufficiently alleged that Pierce or his agent sold and traded tokens for his benefit. The court denied one of EMAX cofounder Giovanni Perone's motions to dismiss the same consumer claims but granted to amend dismissal of the securities claims for failing to allege Perone personally sold tokens.
The court stated that the plaintiffs must re-file the complaint and the defendants must answer the remaining claims, with Judge Fitzgerald writing, "Plaintiffs have repeatedly failed to cure the deficiencies identified by the Court and were explicitly warned that this would be their last opportunity to amend." In October 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Kim Kardashian for unlawfully promoting the token as a security. She agreed to pay $1.26 million in penalties for her involvement.