Pump Fun lawsuit judge Colleen McMahon says she “doesn’t understand” why legal firms Burwick Law and Wolf Popper have jointly filed two similar lawsuits against the memecoin platform.
In an order submitted by Judge McMahon yesterday, she requested that Burwick Law explain by Friday why there are two filed lawsuits and why they can’t be combined.
She highlights how both lawsuits feature the same defendants, were filed by the same law firm (two weeks apart), and involve the same allegations against Pump Fun — that it sold unregistered securities in the form of memecoins.
McMahon said, “While the Aguilar complaint, which was the second filed action, is more detailed than the Carnahan complaint, it looks at first blush like both lawsuits are seeking the same relief for the same alleged violation of the 1933 Securities Act.”
Read more: Burwick Law founder likely behind Pump Fun memecoin, report
She added, “I am generally opposed to appointing more than one lead counsel in securities fraud class actions, to avoid duplication and keep costs down,” and claimed that she doesn’t want “duplicative lawsuits.”
McMahon also asked Burwick Law and Wolf Popper to explain (if the lawsuits are ever consolidated) why there needs to be two lead plaintiffs and two law firms serving as lead counsel. She also wants them to clarify which complaint should be the “operative pleading.”
As the case continues, Pump Fun’s lead counsel, Brown Rudnick, has appointed further lawyers who specialise in cryptocurrency, NFTs, and blockchain developers.
They have represented the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Atomic Wallet, and Mark Cuban in crypto cases.
Initially, Pump Fun operators Alon Cohen, Dylan Kerler, and Noah Tweedale were late hiring Brown Rudnick and almost missed a deadline to respond to the complaint.
Burwick Law and Wolf Popper are representing Kendall Carnahan and Diego Aguilar in two class action lawsuits against Pump Fun.
Alongside selling unregistered securities, they accuse the platform of operating “pump and dump” schemes and leaving the platform open to “terrorist financing, drug trafficking, and other transnational crimes.”
