The closing arguments of both the Kleiman and Wright sides were concluded on Tuesday 23 November. Now ten jurors will determine the fate of the multi-billion dollar lawsuit. While Craig Wright claims he’s Satoshi Nakamoto, he also insists the now-deceased Dave Kleiman did not help with the creation of Bitcoin. Plaintiffs hope to receive a huge amount of money as well as intellectual property (IP), which is estimated to have a value of billions of millions of dollars.
Kleiman V. Wright Trial nears its end
Now that the famous Kleiman v. Wright trial has come to an end, the cryptocurrency community will be witnessing the eagerly awaited verdict from Miami’s jury. The plaintiffs’ attorney representing the Kleiman estate, Vel Freedman, tweeted about the case when the closing arguments were finished and the jury left to make a decision. “Kleiman v Wright update: Case submitted to the jury. Closings done. Now we wait,” Freedman explainedTuesday afternoon, EST
Freedman also thanked his colleagues for their assistance with this case. The closing arguments are over and it’s now up to the ten jury members to make a decision. On Tuesday the jurors didn’t reach an agreement and will continue to meet on Monday. Coingeek’s Kurt Wuckert Jr. tweetedAbout the case, and complimented Freedman following the closing arguments.
“Vel Freedman had a very strong finish for Kleiman today,” Wuckert Jr. said. “Rivero accidentally spilled his water on his notes and struggled with technical difficulties. He was quick to catch his stride and made his points. But Freedman’s conclusion was very effective and direct. Jury in deliberation now.”
‘Close to a Trillion Dollar Judgment’
Various estimates note that the lawsuit’s judgment could lead to a massively sized order if the plaintiffs win. Coingeek’s contributing writer Jordan Atkins estimates the judgment could see the Kleiman estate “entitled to a portion of a bitcoin fortune worth more than US$70 billion.” The Coindesk author Deirdra Funcheon projects the judgment could be around: “$36 billion (the value of bitcoin at issue)” and “$126 billion (the value of intellectual property at issue).”
Additionally, there’s billions of dollars in potential punitive damages if the Kleiman estate wins. Carolina Bolado is a Law360 contributor and has been reporting on the case extensively for Law360, as well her tweet account. “The amount of money the plaintiffs are requesting here is staggering,” Bolado wroteTweet. “If they get it all, with treble damages for civil theft and potential punitive damages, we’re looking at close to a trillion dollar judgment. It’s hard to even comprehend.” In a previous tweet Bolado wrote:
We’re wrapping up the instructions to the jury now. They must agree on their final decision.
The summaries of Bolado and Funcheon as well as Wuckert Jr. and Atkins are also available on the Arthur van Pelt Twitter account (@mylegacykit) and the artist dubbed Fractal Encrypt (@fractalencryptThe Kleiman-v. Wright trial has also been covered in detail by a number of other media outlets. While the court’s jurors could not come to a conclusion during the beginning of the week, the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday postponed the final proceedings for six full days.
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