Rosen Law Firm, a global law firm focused on protecting the rights of investors, continues its efforts to become the lead in a class action lawsuit against cryptocurrency firm Yuga Labs.
On January 30, Rosen reiterated that investors who purchased non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from Yuga Labs’ Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) pool in addition to the native token ApeCoin (APE) could join a securities class action suit against Hazem.
Rosen’s lawsuit, filed in December, accuses BAYC’s creators of violating US securities laws by misleading investors about the financial benefits for investors in Yuga Securities, as well as using celebrity promoters to attract more investors. The law firm confirmed that Yoga Securities investors could join the lawsuit against Yoga by the lead plaintiff’s February 7 deadline.
Rosen confirmed that Yoga Securities investors who purchased BAYC and APE between April 23, 2021 and December 8, 2022, may be entitled to compensation without paying any additional costs through a contingency fee arrangement.
Rosen’s action appears to be an attempt to take control of a similar case already in place against Yoga. Previously, the law firm Scott + Scott filed a similar class action lawsuit against Yuga Labs in July 2022. The lawyers argued that Yuga “improperly solicited” the community to buy BAYC NFTs and ApeCoin.
Similar to the case Scott + Scott filed, Rosen’s filing targets a slew of defendants, including Yoga Labs co-founder Willie Arono, who took a leave of absence from the office on Jan. 28, citing health issues. The case will also be against co-founder Greg Solano, billionaire BAYC founder Kerem Atalay, and Yuga Labs CEO Nicole Muniz, as well as some world-famous celebrities including Madonna and companies like Adidas and Moonpay.
Yuga Labs also faced a similar lawsuit from US plaintiffs Adonis Real and Adam Titcher in December 2022. Similar to Rosen’s class action lawsuit, the complaint lists more than 40 people and companies as defendants, including Madonna, Justin Bieber, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dog, and Jimmy Fallon. Post Malone, et al.
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The action, initiated by Scott + Scott, was originally intended to hold Yuga Labs accountable for the massive losses incurred by NFT investors buying BAYC and APE over the past few years. By October 2022, the average transaction value of BAYC NFTs has fallen below $85,000 after reaching $312,000 in April 2022. The minimum price for BAYC NFTs has also fallen from around 144 ether
ETH
cursors down
$1,649
, or $226,000 to 64 ETH ($100,000) at the time of writing.
BAYC NFT Price Chart. Source: NFT Price Floor
Yuga Labs, a Miami-based company, has additionally been involved in some disputes regarding trademark and copyright issues. In June, Yuga Labs filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court against artist Ryder Ripps, alleging that he used Yuga Labs’ trademarks to promote his NFT collection. A subsequent court application suggested that Yuga Labs lacked BAYC’s copyright registration.
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“Yuga Labs has no registered copyright, and therefore there is no imminent threat of a copyright infringement lawsuit,” the filing stated.
Despite facing a lot of problems, Yuga Labs has taken measures to expand the NFT ecosystem. On January 18, Yuga Labs launched its new game Dookey Dash, a skill-based minting experience that allows BAYC investors to claim free tokens in order to compete for high scores and earn new perks.
Disclaimer: This article has been corrected to reflect multiple class action lawsuits against Yuga Labs, with the action originally filed by the law firm Scott + Scott.
