Digital Currency Group (DCG) has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought against them by Gemini Trust Company, LLC. The motion, filed in the Southern District of New York, argues that Gemini’s allegations of fraudulent misrepresentations related to the Gemini Earn program are without merit and inadequately substantiated. DCG’s legal team asserts that the lawsuit lacks actionable evidence and calls for the court to dismiss the complaint.
Digital Currency Group Seeks Dismissal of Gemini Lawsuit, Citing Lack of Evidence and Inadequate Allegations
In the preliminary statement of the motion, DCG outlines Gemini’s claims related to the Gemini Earn program, formerly operated by Gemini in coordination with Genesis Global Capital, LLC (Genesis). DCG argues that Gemini’s allegations, aimed at holding DCG and Barry Silbert responsible for Genesis’s actions, are unfounded.
DCG’s motion further points out that Gemini’s allegations fail to adequately allege fraud by the defendants. The argument section of the motion elaborates that none of the statements made by the defendants are actionable and that the defendants are not liable for alleged misrepresentations by Genesis.
“Gemini argues that defendants aided and abetted Genesis’s alleged fraud through various corporate transactions and paperwork. This effort fares no better,” the letter supporting the motion to dismiss filing published on August 10, 2023, explains. “There are no well-pled allegations that Defendants had actual knowledge of any alleged fraud, and Gemini does no more than rely on Defendants’ corporate relationship with Genesis to argue otherwise.”
In addition to the lack of evidence for fraudulent actions, DCG’s motion accuses Gemini of failing to plead knowledge of the alleged fraud. They further dismiss Gemini’s accusations as baseless, criticizing the lack of substantial support for the claims. “The rest of the complaint is a hodgepodge of conclusory allegations against non-defendant Genesis,” DCG’s attorneys insist. The motion continues:
Gemini tries in various ways to hold defendants responsible for alleged misrepresentations by Genesis, but Gemini’s efforts to impute them to defendants fail as a matter of law. It is a settled principle of law that parents are not liable for the conduct of their subsidiaries, and Gemini does not even try to allege any theory of alter ego. Instead, it asserts that defendants are liable for not affirmatively correcting the alleged misstatements of Genesis.
Digital Currency Group’s response to the lawsuit comes after Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss publicly announced legal action against DCG and CEO Barry Silbert. Gemini’s lawsuit seeks to recover damages and losses incurred as a result of alleged false and misleading representations by DCG and Silbert. At the time, DCG stressed that the lawsuit was simply “another publicity stunt from Cameron Winklevoss to deflect blame.”
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