A choose has made the choice to merge two lawsuits in opposition to memecoin platform Pump Enjoyable right into a single case that represents each purchaser whereas chopping potential legal professional rewards for authorized companies Burwick Legislation and Wolf Popper.
Choose Colleen McMahon filed an order on Wednesday, which consolidated the Kendall Carnahan case, solely representing PNUT token consumers, into the wider-scope Diego Aguilar case.
McMahon beforehand requested the regulation companies concerned, Burwick Legislation and Wolf Popper, to elucidate why they wanted two lawsuits and two lead counsels of their authorized motion in opposition to Pump Enjoyable.
Along with making Aguilar v. Baton Company Ltd., dba Pump.Enjoyable the main case, Choose McMahon additionally accepted a proposal to make Michael Okafor the lead counsel on this lawsuit.
Okafor had misplaced virtually $250,000 on numerous Pump Enjoyable tokens.
Learn extra: Pump Enjoyable faucets high-profile attorneys to battle Burwick lawsuit
Pump Enjoyable’s authorized group, Brown Rudnick, tried to struggle the adjustments to the go well with, arguing that Okafor “lacks constitutional and statutory standing” and may solely symbolize the tokens they particularly purchased.
Choose cuts awarded legal professional charges
Choose McMahon agreed, relatively reluctantly, to each Burwick Legislation and Wolf Popper performing as lead counsel. She famous how this observe can typically inflate legal professional prices and mentioned she is going to cut back any potential awarded attorneys’ charges that come up from each regulation companies billing for a similar quantity of labor.
“Normally, one appoints counsel who are competent securities lawyers (Wolf Popper certainly qualifies), and those lawyers learn what they need to know about the industry in which the securities were issued,” she mentioned.
“I am skeptical that this case should be treated any differently, but I will skin the cat differently.”
Choose McMahon was additionally involved about case delays and requested each events to keep away from “elongating” the schedule. She mentioned, “Once I actually get control over the calendaring of a securities fraud case, I like to move things along.”
She gave Burwick Legislation till July 22 to file an amended Pump Enjoyable lawsuit (It requested for 90 days). She then gave Pump Enjoyable’s authorized group till September 5 to file a dismissal or response, and one other month on prime of that for each side to file additional responses.
She warned, “I am not changing these dates, so don’t ask.”
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