Tether and its affiliate cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex are seeking to dismiss a "frivolous" class-action lawsuit over alleged market manipulations.
"Today, Bitfinex advised the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York of its intention to file a motion to dismiss the frivolous class action lawsuit filed last month."
According to the defendants, the claims made by the plaintiffs lack required legal basis that would allow them to proceed further. Bitfinex points out that their accusations are based on an unpublished academic paper that has "key methodological flaws."
As reported by U.Today, the lawsuit, which was filed on Oct. 7, accuses Tether and Bitfinex of large-scale market manipulations. Their liability allegedly reaches a staggering $1.4 trln in damages.
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino states that the company's latest move is meant to shield the crypto industry.
. @bitfinex and @Tether_to once again will shield our industry from all the nonsense that few are try to spin around to demolish the hard work made by many of us. https://t.co/8xcGf6WIgC
— Paolo Ardoino (@paoloardoino) November 15, 2019
Earlier this month, Tether addressed the updated version of the controversial research paper published by academics John Griffin and Amin Shams. The company vehemently denied manipulating Bitcoin prices while calling the updated study "an embarrassing walkback."