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- A U.S. federal judge has allowed a plaintiff to serve court papers to the accused via NFTs
- The plaintiff took anonymous hackers to court demanding a return of close to $1 million in USDT
- The judge said the plaintiff should use the same wallet address the hackers used
U.S. federal judge Beth Bloom has allowed plaintiff Rangan Bandyopadhyay to serve court papers to the accused via NFTs in a case where the accused are hackers who drained close to $1 million USDT from the plaintiff’s wallet. The judge said that the plaintiff should use the same wallet address used by the hackers, with court filings indicating that the malicious actor stole 971 USDT. The court ordered the hackers to return the amount in full, adding that unpaid funds will continue to attract interest until the debt is fully settled.
NFTs form Legal Notice
Details indicate that the malicious actors tricked Bandyopadhyay into interacting with a compromised smart contract using their Coinbase wallet, allowing the hackers full access to the plaintiff’s USDT stash. According to Bloom, digital collectibles are an acceptable legal notice in such circumstances since the hackers, as of now, has no known physical address.
However, with the decentralized nature of the blockchain, it’s unclear how the funds will be recovered even with a court order. Bandyopadhyay’s attorney hinted at “knowing where the crypto is sitting,” adding that they’re confident they’ll get part, if not all, of the funds.
Bloom’s ruling resembles a similar one delivered by a U.K judge who said that plaintiffs can serve court papers through NFTs if the recipient’s known address is a crypto address.
A Crypto Scam Tracker
Although security agencies like the FBI have in the past retrieved stolen crypto, the scammers are now targeting NFT collectors with their usual hard-to-resist deals. Some jurisdictions have however launched a crypto scam tracker to help people determine whether an available cryptocurrency deal is a scam.
Although Bandyopadhyay’s stolen funds are close to $1 million, it’s unlikely the court will offer technical assistance in recovering the funds.
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On June 17, 2021, a federal judge in Massachusetts approved the filing of court papers through non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This is the first time that a United States court has approved the use of NFTs for court documents.
NFTs are digital assets that are secured and stored on a blockchain and are used to certify ownership of digital goods, such as art and music. They are unique and cannot be reproduced or exchanged for other goods, making them difficult to counterfeit or duplicate.
The federal judge in the Massachusetts case allowed a group of plaintiffs to serve court documents, including summons and petitions, by sending them via an NFT. According to the court, this form of service was appropriate in order to comply with state laws that require valid forms of service for court documents. The court also noted that it was satisfied that the plaintiffs, who are not physically in the state of Massachusetts, have established a protocol where the NFT can identify the server and the recipient.
The court acknowledged the unique qualities of NFTs, including immutability, verifiability, and non-reproducibility, and believed these features would serve as a secure form of service.
The court’s decision is precedent-setting and could open the door for greater use of NFTs in court proceedings. As the technology matures and becomes more widely adopted, NFTs could prove to be a secure, efficient, and cost-effective tool for serving court documents.
Source: https://www.thechainshilling.com/news/federal-judge-approves-service-of-court-papers-through-nfts/
