In a twist that indeed sounds like something out of a courtroom drama serie, Eden Gallery is pushing back against a class-action lawsuit from a group of NFT holders.
The gallery argues that any losses these collectors might be feeling are just a result of the market decline, not any wrongdoing on their part.
Buyers’ remorse?
Eden Gallery got a lawsuit involves 36 individuals who bought Meta Eagle Club NFTs and are alleging fraud and unjust enrichment, and they claim the gallery and artist Gal Yosef’s project was a rug pull.
The Meta Eagle Club sold 12,000 unique NFTs and collected $13 million between February 2022 and November 2023.
Eden Gallery now filed a motion in a New York federal court on January 7, claiming that the general decline in NFT prices doesn’t equate to fraud or misrepresentation.
We aren’t lawyers, but they’re probably right.
“Plaintiffs may have buyers’ remorse, even though the NFTs were a digital art product rather than an investment product, but their losses, if any, are due to market forces.”
Buy high, sell low?
Eden Gallery pointed out that when the Meta Eagle Club NFTs launched in early 2022, the NFT market was booming.
But on the other hand, as we all know, what goes up must come down, and the current floor price for these NFTs has plummeted to about 0.0051 ETH, around $17, down from 0.6 ETH, or about $1,800 at launch.
The plaintiffs argue they overpaid for their NFTs because of misleading claims by the gallery and are seeking damages ranging from $1,224 to $70,219 each.
Eden Gallery countered that none of these claims meet the legal threshold of $75,000 for jurisdiction and that combining claims isn’t allowed.
NFT market still struggling
There was an uptick in NFT sales lately, likely thanks to a crypto market rally, but it’s worth noting that the sector is still down about 98% from its peak sales volumes in early 2022.
So while some might be cashing in on the latest trends, many others are left holding onto depreciating assets.
