Manhattan Federal Judge Condemns Roche Freedman LLP Founding Partners Following Kyle Roche’s public statement, the judge ruled out the cryptocurrency boutique law firm from the market manipulation lawsuits against Tether and Bitfinex. A recent hearing indicated that U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Faira believes the litigation process could be derailed. She further stressed that the “metaphorical baggage” carried by Roche Freedman “is not in the best interest of the class.” Out of Litigation
At the end of August, Kyle Roche, a founding partner of Roche Freedman LLP, found himself in the middle of a lot of controversy. In a series of videos published by Crypto Leaks,he was seen talking about specific ties to specific cryptocurrency businesses. On August 31, Roche withdrew from a number of crypto-related class action lawsuits, further citing theCrypto Leaks video. He said the leaked video contained “numerous unsourced false statements” that were “illegally obtained”. Roche added:
[The] highly edited video clip [is] not presented in its exact context.
However, in the wake of the leak, Tether’s legal representative Elliot Greenfield of his Debevoise & Plimpton LLP ordered the court to exclude law firm Roche Freedman from the class action lawsuit. I asked for Tether’s attorney, Elliott Greenfield, said Roche’s involvement in the leak and class action lawsuit raises “substantial concerns for the defendants regarding the motives behind the lawsuit.” Bittrex and Poloniex have also sent requests to the judge asking them to exclude Kyle Roche’s law firm from the proceedings.
Following requests from Tether, Poloniex, and Bittrex, law360.com stated, “A Federal Judge in Manhattan has ruled that Kyle Roche, a founding partner of Roche Freedman LLP, has a “I blamed the stupid ‘comment’.” Since then, both Bloomberg Law and law360.com have published reports on.indicates that US District Judge Catherine Polk Faira has dismissed Roche Friedman from the case. Failla explained that Roche’s public comments were “too detailed to dismiss immediately.”
Law firms Serendi Gay Ellsberg and Schneider Wallace to lead class action lawsuit after Roche Friedman’s formal disqualification will be Faira said law firms could still serve as lawyers, but stressed that the “metaphorical baggage” carried by Roche Friedman “is not in the best interests of the class.” Bloomberg Law contributor Justin Wise adds, “Roche Friedman faces disqualification claims in at least four other lawsuits, according to federal court filings.”
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