US Appeals Court Grants Victory to Acclaimed Bitcoin Founder Craig Wright in BTC Ownership Dispute

In a ruling on Thursday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has granted victory to Craig Wright, a prominent individual who has long asserted himself as the inventor of Bitcoin.

This court decision was against the Estate of the late David Kleiman, a computer forensics specialist. According to the court statement, the legal dispute stemmed from an ownership conflict regarding the origins of Bitcoin.

Background of the Case

The Estate of David, now represented by Ira Kleiman, filed a complaint against Wright. They claimed that David and Wright had partnered to conceive the original Bitcoin protocol. Accordingly, the supposed alliance saw them engage in BTC mining and advancing associated blockchain technologies.

Furthermore, the plaintiff contended it has a legitimate claim to half of the Bitcoins amassed due to this alleged partnership. The disputed cryptocurrency is estimated to be worth billions of dollars.

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Following thorough deliberation, a jury concluded that no partnership had existed between Craig Wright and David Kleiman. Therefore, it rendered a verdict unfavorable to the Estate. Subsequently, the Kleiman Estate lodged an appeal to challenge this decision.

Notably, the Kleiman Estate sought an annulment of the verdict on three grounds. First, it claimed that the court’s instructions regarding forming a partnership failed to accurately align with the current legal standards established in Florida’s Revised Uniform Partnership Act of 1995.

Secondly, the plaintiff argued: “The court applied the wrong legal standard and abused its discretion when it vacated sanctions imposed by the magistrate judge.” The Kleiman Estate believes the sanctions were initially meant to establish “factual elements of the Estate’s partnership claim.”

Lastly, the plaintiff contends that the district court, in an abuse of its discretion, refused to grant a new trial. It highlighted that the denial was “based on opposing counsel’s repeated violations of an in-limine order prohibiting evidence of the ‘sibling relationship’ between David Kleiman and Ira Kleiman.”

The Existing Ruling Stands

However, the judges of the Eleventh Circuit noted to have meticulously examined each argument presented. Yet, they ultimately affirm the existing judgment. Notably, the jury outlined reasons for which the Kleiman Estate’s arguments were insufficient to secure a repeal.