- A U.S. federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit against Caitlyn Jenner and Sophia Hutchins due to a lack of jurisdiction
- The court found insufficient proof that the token transactions were subject to U.S. securities laws
- The plaintiff, British investor Lee Greenfield, has been granted until May 23 to amend and refile the complaint with stronger evidence
A California federal judge has dismissed a class action lawsuit filed by British investor Lee Greenfield against Caitlyn Jenner and her business partner, Sophia Hutchins, citing a lack of U.S. jurisdiction. Greenfield, who claimed losses exceeding $40,000 from holding the $JENNER meme coin between May and July 2024, lost when the court determined that there was inadequate proof that the token transactions fell under U.S. securities laws. He has until May 23 to amend and refile the complaint with more substantial evidence.
$JENNER and $BBARK Lost Greenfield Tens of Thousands
Greenfield’s lawsuit alleged that Jenner and Hutchins misled investors by launching the $JENNER token on the Solana blockchain and subsequently creating an identical token on the Ethereum blockchain two days later, causing the original token to lose value. The $JENNER token launched on May 26 2024, on the Solana blockchain, with Jenner encouraging her followers to invest via her social media accounts. According to the complaint, buyers saw their investments plummet when Jenner and Hutchins abruptly sold their holdings and launched the alternative token.
Greenfield also claimed that Jenner promoted another token, $BBARK, named after her dogs, despite assuring followers that she was fully focused on the $JENNER tokens. Additionally, the lawsuit accused Jenner of profiting from these activities by collecting a 3% fee on all transactions from the Ethereum version of the meme coin.
Borderless Nature of Crypto Counts Against Greenfield
U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. ruled this week that the lawsuit could not proceed due to insufficient evidence demonstrating that the token purchases occurred within the United States. The judge noted that without clear proof that Jenner and Hutchins incurred irrevocable liability under U.S. securities laws, the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear the case.
Greenfield’s complaint failed to provide detailed information about the location and manner of his token purchases, merely stating that he acquired the tokens using ETH and SOL cryptocurrencies. While the current lawsuit has been dismissed, the judge has granted Greenfield the opportunity to amend and refile the complaint with more robust evidence by May 23. Should he choose to do so, Jenner and Hutchins are required to respond to any amended filing by June 6.
The dismissal of this case comes days after a lawsuit targeting a trove of celebrity FTX endorsers was also dismissed.
