A US judge has advised that YouTuber Logan Paul cannot avoid a lawsuit over his failed crypto project, CryptoZoo, by shifting blame to the project’s co-creators.
Magistrate Judge Ronald Griffin on Tuesday urged a federal court in Austin, Texas, to deny Paul’s request for a default judgment against CryptoZoo co-founders Eduardo Ibanez and Jake Greenbaum in a lawsuit by CryptoZoo non-fungible token buyers who claimed the project was fraudulent.
Judge Griffin said to allow Paul’s bid, which would see the court rule against Ibanez and Greenbaum without a trial because they haven’t responded, “would undeniably result in inconsistent judgments.”
A group of CryptoZoo NFT buyers first sued Paul, Ibanez, Greenbaum and others involved in the project in early 2023, claiming it was a “rug pull” and promised perks that never materialized.
Paul filed a counterclaim against Ibanez and Greenbaum in January 2024, claiming he hired the duo to help run the project, but they conned him, causing CryptoZoo’s collapse.
CryptoZoo’s premise was players buying NFT “eggs” to “hatch” into animals that can be bred to create hybrid animals to be traded for tokens. Source: CryptoZoo
CryptoZoo launched in 2021 and featured NFTs along with a token, but a slated blockchain-based game was never launched.
Suit could collapse if Paul’s motion is allowed: Judge
Judge Griffin said that Paul’s attempt to blame Ibanez and Greenbaum and “inculpate them for the downfall of CryptoZoo and any resulting injury” could see the lawsuit go nowhere as the pair haven’t shown up in court.
“At its core, this case calls on the Court to determine whether Defendants together committed some form of fraudulent acts in the promotion and operation of CryptoZoo,” he added.
“If the Court were to grant default judgment and thereby lay all blame on Ibanez and Greenbaum, what would come of Plaintiffs’ claims as to Paul and the other defendants?”
Paul’s bid is only against his co-founders and not the claims levelled by CryptoZoo buyers,…
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