Lawyers representing both sides confirmed to Cointelegraph that they expect the trial to convene on July 6.
The case that has been captivating the crypto community for several years now may finally receive a resolution. On May 1, Judge Bloom, who presides over the case, issued a court order for the trial to begin on July 6. More importantly, the lawyers representing both sides confirmed that they are not planning to file any motions that could delay the trial and are eagerly looking to the opportunity to prove their case in court.
The war of words between legal teams
Dr. Wright’s attorney Andres Rivero told Cointelegraph that his client has always wanted to establish truth in court and there will be no delaying motions from their side:
“it’s always possible for the cases to be delayed, they could be motions, more requests by the plaintiffs […] But we have opposed all the delays and we’ve always wanted to go to trial. The plaintiffs would have to prove that there was a verbal agreement that 50% of everything that Dr. Wright did for the rest of his life belonged to Mr. Kleiman ”
According to Rivero, Kleiman was a dear friend of Dr. Wright. However, this did not entitle him to half of Wright’s Bitcoins (BTC).
In a statement released to Cointelegraph, Velvel Freedman of Roche Cyrulnik Freedman LLP, the firm represent Ira Kleiman, called those claims “absurd”:
“Any comment that Plaintiffs are responsible for any delays to the trial date is absurd. As Judge Bloom found on January 10, 2020, Craig’s ‘antics and conduct delayed and obstructed the discovery process of this case, wasted valuable time and resources […] and prevented the Plaintiff from obtaining evidence.’ Plaintiffs are looking forward to the trial.”
A very unusual case
Rivero pointed out that the judge’s “sanctions against Dr. Wright were reversed, other than the fees”. Rivero does not have an estimate for how long the trial could take as in his opinion, the case has been “very usual”:
“Your guess is as good as mine, because this is the first time I’ve ever seen anything like this.”
Ira Kleiman, the brother of late Dave Kleiman, lays claim to the half of 1.1 million Bitcoins that Dr. Wright and Dave Kleiman allegedly mined together as part of the Satoshi Nakamoto team.
According to Rivero, his client, Dr. Wright still maintains that he is Satoshi Nakamoto, despite many detractors questioning it. Recently, John McAfee said that with 99% certainty, he knows the true identity of the author of Bitcoin whitepaper, hinting that Dr. Wright could be part of the Satoshi Nakamoto team.
