Ira Kleiman appeals defeat in Kleiman v Wright

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Lawyers representing Ira Kleiman in Kleiman v Wright have notified the Florida District Court that they are appealing December’s verdict which saw a jury reject all but one of Kleiman’s seven claims against Dr. Craig Wright.

Kleiman had attempted to convince a Florida jury that Dr. Wright’s claim of the invention of Bitcoin was the result of a partnership with his late brother, Dave Kleiman, suing him on behalf of the Dave Kleiman estate as well as W&K Info Defense Research LLC, a company apparently founded between Dr. Wright, his ex-wife and Dave Kleiman. The jury found no evidence that such a partnership existed, though they did find that Dr. Wright owed just over $140 million to W&K which court filings show is still at least part-owned by Dr. Wright himself.

Kleiman’s attorneys have not made any substantive filings, so the basis on which they are appealing the verdict isn’t yet known. The notice indicates that they will also be appealing Judge Beth Bloom’s rejection of their attempt at a retrial, an added defeat garnishing a near-total loss at trial in December.

The appeal is only filed on behalf of Ira Kleiman as representative of the estate of Dave Kleiman, reflecting the fact that the only count on which the jury found against Dr. Wright was in regard to co-plaintiff W&K. Given the ownership status of that company, it isn’t clear how Kleiman will be able to recover any of the $140 million award.

Dr. Craig Wright said, “I won the first time and fully expect I will win again. The jurors came to the right decision after listening to 13 days of testimonials and deliberating for seven days, and am confident there will be no change to their decision on appeal. David Kleiman, while being a close friend, did not co-invent Bitcoin and Ira Kleiman is entitled to nothing.”

Rivero Mestre’s Andres Rivero, attorney for Dr. Wright, said, “Judge Bloom gave the parties an eminently fair trial. The jurors listened attentively to 13 days of testimony and then carefully considered what they’d heard for another seven days. At the end of that process, the jury concluded that David Kleiman was not a co-inventor of Bitcoin with Dr. Wright and that Ira Kleiman is entitled to none of the Satoshi Nakamoto fortune.”

The next step is to see if Kleiman’s notice draws a cross-appeal from Dr. Wright on the count found in favor of W&K, and what bases Kleiman will be arguing on appeal.