).
After two law firms submitted documents to the court, asking for Roche Freedman’s removal from the Tether/Bitfinex Crypto Asset Litigation, the fallout from the Kyle Roche videos continues.
Roche Freedman is representing the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit that was initiated in 2019. It alleges that Bitfinex and Tether manipulated the crypto market through issuing unbacked Tether ( USDT).
Kirby McInerney LLP Kirby (Kirby), and Radice Law Firm P.C. (Radice) who are representing three of the plaintiffs in this case, requested that Roche Freeman be removed form the courtroom on Monday.
The document argues that the companies should be substituted for lead counsel because Roche Freedman would distract from investors’ claims and “prejudice” the rights of the putative classes:
A new leadership structure is needed to avoid sideshows about the competence of counsel, the motives and the use of litigation and discovery.
After a CryptoLeaks expose revealed that Kyle Roche and Ava Labs had an agreement to use lawsuits against their competitors, the controversy began.
According to court records , Kyle Roche resigned as counsel in several crypto class action lawsuits, including the Bitfinex Crypto Asset Litigation and Tether.
Roche Freedman responded on Tuesday to the request. It called the motion to have it removed an “extraordinary remedy” that was based on “recordings” of one lawyer, who later swore that the statements were false or misunderstood:
“The Firm also took the necessary steps to avoid any appearances of impropriety.”
Roche Freedman claims it “screened” Roche Freedman and that he will not receive any of the litigation’s proceeds.
It argued that the matter should be closed because the “five named plaintiffs” who retained the Firm are at greatest risk if they lose their counsel.
Related: Tether asks Roche Freedman to be exonerated from class action
Tether, one of the defendants in this case, has already asked that Roche’s law office be removed completely and that it certify that all documents issued by the defendants have been returned or destroyed and that they have not been shared with any third parties.
