A federal judge has denied dismissal motions in a significant lawsuit involving Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, targeting celebrities including Justin Bieber, Madonna, and numerous other high-profile defendants.

The class action lawsuit, filed in December 2022, alleges that defendants engaged in "manufactured celebrity endorsements and misleading promotions" that led investors to make "losing investments at drastically inflated prices."

Key defendants include:

• Yuga Labs
• Guy Oseary
• Adidas
• Serena Williams
• DJ Khaled
• Snoop Dogg
• Post Malone
• Steph Curry
• Sotheby's

The plaintiffs claim multiple violations of California business and consumer laws, along with violations of the Exchange Act and Securities Act. The lawsuit also highlights alleged connections between Bored Ape NFTs and the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX.

Yuga Labs attempted to dismiss the case in November, arguing that the NFTs don't qualify as securities and denying any "materially false or misleading statement, omission or fraudulent scheme." Justin Bieber's legal team separately argued that his social media promotions were "non-actionable generalized and/or humorous statements."

Judge Fernando M. Olguin, while noting "concerns" about claims regarding defendants' knowledge of unlawful conduct, emphasized the need to first determine whether the NFTs qualify as securities under the Securities and Exchange Acts. The court has:

• Rejected dismissal motions without prejudice
• Set a September 3rd deadline for a proposed order
• Limited future focus to NFTs' securities-classification status

If the NFTs are classified as securities, defendants may submit new dismissal motions or seek reinstatement of original motions.

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