Chainalysis Wins $80 Million Lawsuit as Manhattan Supreme Court Dismisses Claims, Major Win for Crypto

• Manhattan Supreme Court dismissed an $80 million lawsuit against Chainalysis.
• Ratliff’s claims were dismissed due to time-barred and residency issues.
• Chainalysis argued that oral agreements were unenforceable under New York’s statute of frauds.

Justice Joel Cohen of the Manhattan Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit that claimed damages amounting to $80 million from Chainalysis. Former Chainalysis employee Blake Ratliff, the plaintiff, alleged that the company had violated an oral agreement by altering the terms of his stock options. The court, however, has ruled in favor of Chainalysis.

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Chainalysis contended that Ratliff’s claims of breach of contract were brought too late, having started six years after he left the company. In addition, Ratliff specialized in Bitcoin tracing during his employment that lasted less than a year at Chainalysis.

Chainalysis argued that oral agreements are null and void according to the statute of frauds, which requires the written form of certain agreements. Furthermore, the company argued that Ratliff resided in Florida during his employment which has a four-year statute of limitations for oral contracts, rather than Tennessee which has a six-year period.

Ratliff, however, defended himself by claiming that he had lived in Tennessee, which extended the statute of limitations. In spite of this, the court upheld Chainalysis’s argument regarding residency. 

The court also discovered that oral amendments were specifically prohibited in Ratliff’s employment agreement. A further condition in the agreement was that stock options could only be vested after twelve months of continuous employment.

Ratliff claimed that he was verbally assured by co-founders of Chainalysis, Michael Gronager and Jonathan Levin, that his stock options would be guaranteed. They allegedly also would make sure he would keep moving up the corporate ladder. He contended that these assurances changed the terms of his stock options by amending the original employment agreement.
Judge Cohen’s decision to dismiss the $80 million lawsuit demonstrates the strength of Chainalysis’ position in spite of Ratliff’s arguments. The decision has been met with strong disagreement by Ratliff’s attorney Benjamin Joelson who has indicated intentions to appeal.

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