Jenner Meme Coin Lawsuit Dismissed Under Howey Test by Los Angeles Federal Judge

Key Takeaways:

• A national justice dismissed each securities claims against Caitlyn Jenner’s JENNER meme coin with prejudice connected April 16, 2026.
• Judge Blumenfeld ruled that JENNER failed the communal endeavor prong of the Howey Test, mounting a precedent for meme coin litigation.
• California state-law fraud claims dismissed without prejudice, leaving plaintiffs the enactment to refile successful authorities court.

Central District of California Dismisses JENNER Securities Claims, Leaves State Fraud Case Open

U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. of the Central District of California issued the bid connected April 16, 2026, granting defendants’ question to disregard the Second Amended Complaint successful Naeem Azad et al. v. Caitlyn Jenner et al.(Case No. 2:24-cv-09768). A abstracted last judgment was entered the aforesaid day, terminating the national case. Law360 and Bloomberg Law archetypal reported connected the dismissal.

The determination centers connected the Howey Test, the Supreme Court model utilized to find whether a fiscal merchandise constitutes an “investment contract” nether securities law. To qualify, a transaction indispensable impact an concern of wealth successful a communal endeavor with an anticipation of profits derived from the efforts of others.

Judge Blumenfeld recovered that pb plaintiff Lee Greenfield failed to fulfill the communal endeavor prong. The tribunal recovered the ailment did not plausibly allege that investors pooled resources oregon agreed to stock profits and losses beyond the acquisition of the coin itself, including done the token’s alleged transaction tax, buybacks, oregon selling activity.

Because the communal endeavor constituent was not met, the tribunal did not scope the 3rd prong regarding expectations of nett from others’ efforts. Federal securities claims were dismissed with prejudice connected the merits arsenic to Greenfield.

California state-law claims, including common-law fraud and quasi-contract, were dismissed without prejudice. The tribunal declined to workout supplemental jurisdiction implicit those claims, leaving plaintiffs the enactment to refile successful authorities court. Claims from each putative people members different than Greenfield were besides dismissed without prejudice.

Jenner launched the JENNER meme coin connected Solana connected May 26, 2024, and connected Ethereum soon after. The token was promoted heavy done societal media, including posts connected X that featured AI-generated imagery with messages suggesting nett potential, according to the people action. The Rosen Law Firm filed the archetypal people enactment successful November 2024 connected behalf of purchasers of the token during the people period.

Plaintiffs argued Jenner’s personage presumption and promotional enactment created a tenable anticipation of profits from her efforts, which would fulfill the Howey standard. Jenner and her then-business manager, Sophia Hutchins, were named arsenic defendants. Hutchins died successful July 2025. Jenner’s ineligible squad maintained passim that the token was not a security.

The tribunal archetypal dismissed the archetypal ailment connected May 9, 2025, uncovering that plaintiffs, galore of them overseas investors, failed to adequately allege U.S.-based transactions. Plaintiffs amended their ailment and added Greenfield, a UK national described arsenic having suffered losses exceeding $40,000, arsenic pb plaintiff.

Jenner antecedently described the suit arsenic meritless and established a ineligible defence fund, citing imaginable consequences for the broader integer plus manufacture if the lawsuit had gone the different way.

The ruling adds to a increasing assemblage of lawsuit instrumentality distinguishing speculative meme tokens from regulated securities. It does not hindrance the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oregon different courts, and each meme coin lawsuit turns connected its circumstantial facts and allegations.

The determination whitethorn inactive power litigation involving different celebrity-endorsed tokens, including those tied to nationalist figures and governmental personalities. Courts and ineligible teams tin present notation the Blumenfeld ruling erstwhile applying the Howey model to akin assets.

No contiguous entreaty has been reported. The last judgement closes the national proceeding, and the underlying state-law questions stay unresolved pending immoderate refiling successful California authorities court.