A Texas judge said the proposed bid for his unabolized, mysterious token (NFT) project Cryptozoo, who dismissed YouTuber Logan Paul’s proposed class action lawsuit, should be permitted.
Judge Ronald Griffin advised Austin Federal Court on Thursday that the class group did not fully link to their claim that they lost money by purchasing Paulo into the Cryptozoo project.
The recommendation allows a federal judge to drop a case unless the class group is updated.
The group is made up of Cryptozoo buyers who first sued Paul and others, who were allegedly linked to the project in February 2023, claiming it was a “ragpur” that promised a perk that never came to fruition.
Still, Griffin said the group should be allowed to modify all but one of the 27 claims against Paul. Claims claiming Paul committed a product pool fraud should be permanently dismissed, the judge said.
“Psychic exercises” necessary to claim product pool fraud
In a 75-page report, Judge Griffin said his recommendation to dismiss the lawsuit’s merchandise pool fraud claim came because the court “does not follow the logic of the plaintiffs.”
The class group claimed that Cryptozoo NFTs began as “eggs” that “hatch” animals, and thus could create hybrid animals that could be kept and traded with others.
“In other words, the buyer buys the CZ. [CryptoZoo] NFT doesn’t recognize its value until it’s hatched. Additionally, options contracts will be formed because CZ NFT animals can be raised with others to create hybrid NFTs,” wrote Judge Griffin.
“The mental exercises needed to reach this conclusion really make me dizzy,” he added. “The plaintiff will not explain how the purchase of CZ NFTs will create an optional agreement or contract for future delivery.”
Other claims cannot be linked to Paul
Judge Griffin said the case did not properly link Paul to 26 other claims he made against him, and he said he had yet to provide evidence that he had benefited directly and personally from the collapse of Cryptozoo.
The lawsuit has resulted in claims for fraud, unjust enrichment, negligence, breach of contract, conspiracy to fraud, fraud, fraud, and violations of consumer law in multiple states.
Judge Griffin said in some cases the complaints “given only fragments of fact with ambiguous attributions of actions against the “defendants”” or “packed two different puzzles into the futile hope of producing a cohesive product.”
The judge added, “Unfortunately, Caselaw does not support this tactic.”
Paul refunded Cryptozoo buyer
Class groups sued Paul and Cryptozo co-founders Eduardo Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum in January 2024, claiming that the duo invited him, causing the collapse of Cryptozo and prompted Judge Griffin to reject the court in July.
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In January 2023, Paul made plans for Cryptozoo, pledging a year later to put aside $2.3 million for Cryptozoo buyer refunds, and agreeing that the claimant would not sue the project.
Buyer refunded 0.1 ether (ETH). This is the same amount as the original Cryptozoo NFT was on sale in 2021.
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