Traders’ BitMEX Racketeering Suit Dismissed With A Warning
Elise Hansen, 12 March 2021
A California federal judge on Friday nixed traders’ lawsuit accusing cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX of racketeering and “myriad” illegal activities, and warned the traders “to allege only relevant facts” if they bring their claims again.
U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick said four individual traders and BMA LLC, an entity co-owned by several traders, did not adequately show how they had been harmed by the alleged wrongdoing. While the traders may try again with their claims, Judge Orrick cautioned against the lengthy style of their original complaint.
“Plaintiffs’ 237-page, 618-paragraph, 18-exhibit complaint is hardly a ‘short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,'” Judge Orrick wrote, citing the federal rules of civil procedure. “Plaintiffs waste much space describing other actions brought against defendants … But they fail to plausibly explain how the defendants have harmed them.”
But the judge is allowing the traders to bring their case again with additional expert reports that they have claimed will bolster their case against the exchange.
“I caution plaintiffs to allege only relevant facts and to avoid conclusory assertions,” Judge Orrick warned.
