Licht v. Zhao et al

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United 	States 	District 	Court
District 	of Massachusetts
Leonard Licht 	et 	al.,
Plaintiffs,
v.
Changpeng 	Zhao, 	et 	al.,
Defendants.
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Civil Action No.
24-10447-NMG
MEMORANDUM 	& ORDER
GORTON, 	J.
Pending 	before 	the 	Court 	is 	the 	Report 	and 	Recommendation
(" the 	R&R " ) 	of 	Magistrate 	Judge 	M. 	Page 	Kelly 	(Docket 	No . 	101)
to 	adjudicate 	the 	Joint 	Motion 	to 	Dismiss 	(Docket 	No . 	84) 	of
Changpeng 	Zhao , 	Binance 	Holdings 	Limited 	and 	BAM 	Trading
Services , 	Inc . 	(collectively , 	" defendants " ) . 	After 	careful
consideration 	of 	the 	R&R 	and 	the 	objections 	of 	the 	parties
thereto , 	this 	Court 	will 	overrule 	the 	objections 	of 	both 	parties
and 	will 	accept 	and 	adopt 	the 	R&R .
Defendants ' 	objections 	reiterate 	arguments 	raised 	in
support 	of 	their 	mo t ion 	to 	dismiss , 	which 	Magistrate 	Judge
Kelley 	proper ly 	considered 	and 	rejected 	in 	the 	R&R .
Furthermore , 	any 	objections 	related 	to 	Fuld 	v . 	Palestine
Liberation 	Organization 	are 	immaterial 	because 	the 	R&R 	used 	the
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pre-Fuld 	standard . 	Accordingly , 	the 	defendants ' 	objections 	are
overruled .
The 	Court 	is 	also 	underwhelmed 	by 	plaintiffs ' 	objectio n s .
Plaintiffs 	proffer 	cases 	on 	a i ding 	and 	abetting 	liability 	u nder
the 	Racketeer 	Infl uenced 	and 	Corrupt 	Organizations 	Act 	that 	are
inapposite , 	and 	the 	Court 	agrees 	with 	the 	Magistrate 	Judge 	that
two 	distinct 	causal 	gaps 	defeat 	their 	theory 	of 	liability .
Finally , 	plaintiffs 	contend 	that 	the 	R&R 	erred 	in 	its 	conclusion
that 	the 	conspiracy 	element 	of 	" agreement " 	was 	not 	adequately
pled . 	They 	proffer 	no 	caselaw 	in 	support 	of 	that 	argument . 	As
such , 	plaintiffs ' 	objections 	are 	also 	overruled .
ORDER
For 	the 	foregoing 	reasons , 	the 	Report 	and 	Recommendation
(Docket 	No . 	101) 	is 	ACCEPTED AND ADOPTED.
So 	ordered.
Nathaniel 	M. 	G~ 	n
Senior 	United 	States 	District 	Judge
Dated : 	March 20 , 	2026
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