Judges may remove Shaq, Naomi Osaka from FTX trials

A federal court in Florida, United States, is contemplating removing former NBA great Shaquille O’Neal and tennis player Naomi Osaka from the FTX case since it is unclear if they were served.

U.S. District Judge Kevin Moore issued a preliminary order instructing the plaintiffs to explain why O’Neal and Osaka should not be removed from the lawsuit.

According to Moore, it is unclear whether the two athletes have been served. The judge gave FTX consumers until December to explain.

The order was one of several issued by the court on March 9. In a separate decision, Moore punished other celebrity defendants for improperly asking for a postponement of a scheduled meeting.

Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Kevin O’Leary, David Ortiz, and Trevor Lawrence, among other celebrities accused of crimes, requested a time extension.

The judge however, noted that the request should have originated from the plaintiff’s side. Moore said:

“The court ordered plaintiff, not the defendants, to move for an extension of time to hold the scheduling conference.“

According to Moore, the meeting will proceed as planned, or the plaintiff may request an extension of time to convene the session.

In the meantime, as litigation against the bankrupt exchange FTX continues to pile up, some plaintiffs have urged the merging of these cases.

Nevertheless, on March 8, a court refused the motion for consolidation, noting that the defendants had not yet been allowed to react.

Recently, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Corley refused FTX’s motion to merge five proposed class actions.

On the same day, attorneys for former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried remarked that the criminal trial set to begin in October 2023 may need to be delayed.

While the attorneys did not explicitly request a date modification, they indicated that it may be necessary because they are still awaiting the delivery of evidence and Bankman-Fried acquired more charges in February.