By
Steve Muchoki
April 19th, 2024
The court admits that there are legitimate concerns over the kind of influence that celebrities have.
The EthereumMax (EMAX) lawsuit against reality TV star Kim Kardashian and other popular celebrities including Paul Pierce and retired boxer Floyd Mayweather has been dismissed. The well-known celebrities were reportedly sued in January for the parts they played in promoting the EthereumMax (EMAX) cryptocurrency. However, a court decision on Tuesday has now dismissed the case for lack of sufficient evidence.
Judge Dismisses EthereumMax (EMAX) Case against Kardashian
According to an NBC News report, Judge Michael Fitzgerald who presided over the case says the complainants failed to sufficiently establish that they saw the exact promotions of these celebrities. The judge also added that investors owe themselves more than just acting based on trends. Especially trends that have not been thoroughly researched and analyzed.
However, the court also acknowledges that the concerns over the kind of influence that celebrities have are legitimate. According to court documents, the court understands that celebrities can influence the decisions of their followers, albeit in their millions.
Meanwhile, despite dismissing the case, Judge Fitzgerald also left out a window of opportunity for the complainants. He says they may refile the suit with amended claims after guarding themselves with enough evidence.
The Case
Up until this case was dismissed, complainants believed that there was a collaboration between the celebrities and co-founders of the EMAX project. This belief was argued severally by their lawyers throughout the court proceedings. According to the lawyers, co-founders Steve Gentile and Giovanni Perone had the help of celebrities to create hype around the EMAX. Thus, they succeeded in pumping the token’s price, leaving investors hanging after it dropped.
All the celebrities had to do was endorse the crypto, and that was exactly what Kardashian and others did. For instance, Kardashian posted several EthereumMax promotions to her over 300 million Instagram followers over the past two years.
However, she was later fined by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). That was because she failed to disclose to her followers that she was doing a paid advert. Kardashian later paid $1.26 million to the SEC in October.