Coinbase was met with some resistance on March 21 as it attempted to persuade Supreme Court justices that certain class action suits should go to arbitration.
Coinbase argues in favor of arbitration
As previously reported by CryptoSlate, Coinbase faces lawsuits from various customers over alleged wrongdoing. The firm aims to settle those disputes quickly.
Now, Coinbaseās legal counsel has argued to U.S. Supreme Court justices that district court proceedings should be suspended and that the cases should go to arbitration.
Coinbaseās request was met with resistance. Members of the Supreme Court including Justice John Roberts noted that U.S. Congress has granted Coinbase the right to immediate appeals, meaning that it will not have to wait for a final judgment before appealing.
Roberts called this right āthe most valuable right [Coinbase] could have,ā while Justice Elena Kagan called the right a āpretty valuable thingā despite the companyās demands.
Neal Kumar Katyal, counsel for Coinbase, attempted to counter the justicesā argument. He stated that in certain circumstances, the right to immediate appeal would āeffectivelyā be withheld from Coinbase if any litigation proceeds in district courts.
Justice Brett Kavanagh, meanwhile, acknowledged that Coinbase does not want to be ācoerced into a massive settlementā without being able to use the right to immediate appeal. As such, he called the companyās concern ārealistic.ā
A final decision on the matter is expected by the end of June.
Customerās lawyer cited industry collapses
The current proceedings concern a class action lawsuit originally filed by Abraham Bielski, a customer of Coinbaseās exchange. Bielski sued the company in 2022, alleging that the company failed to protect him after he lost money to a scam.
Hassan Zavareei, who represents Bielski, was present at the current hearing and highlighted the risks of a delayed settlement. He noted that many Coinbase competitors have entered bankruptcy and said that clients are āwondering whether Coinbase is going to be around by the time these appellate court decisions are decided.ā
Another customer, David Suski, filed a suit over an allegedly misleading Coinbase giveaway. The current hearing only mentioned that case in passing.
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