Yuga Labs, the NFT studio behind the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) collection, has petitioned a U.S. court to sanction artist Ryder Ripps for purportedly destroying private keys linked to his wallets containing RR/BAYC NFTs. The move comes amid an ongoing legal dispute between Yuga Labs and Ripps, with Yuga Labs accusing Ripps of intentionally sabotaging court orders.
In a recent filing, Yuga Labs asserted that Ripps destroyed his private keys in a deliberate attempt to circumvent the court injunction, labeling his actions as “bad faith.” The filing contends that Ripps’ actions, which include misleading declarations and ongoing misrepresentations, warrant contempt sanctions from the court.
However, in a response filed by the defendants, they disputed Yuga Labs’ claims and urged the court to reject the sanction request. The defendants argued that Ripps had complied with the court’s orders to the best of his ability, aside from directives related to wallets he no longer had access to.
The legal saga between the two parties dates back to an October injunction, which deemed Ripps and his partner Jeremy Cahen’s RR/BAYC NFTs an infringement of Yuga Labs’ trademark. Following a final judgment in favor of Yuga Labs in February, Ripps was instructed to either destroy or relinquish any remaining infringing NFTs.
According to Yuga Labs, Ripps only disclosed the destruction of his private keys in February, citing concerns about inadvertent violations of the court injunction. Yuga Labs argued that while Ripps may have deleted the keys, he still retains ownership of the NFTs, potentially enabling their recovery through backups.
Yuga Labs further cast doubt on the validity of Ripps’ explanation, alleging continued use of wallets associated with RR/BAYC NFTs after the initial court injunction. The studio maintained that Ripps’ actions undermine the court’s injunction and hinder the resolution of the legal dispute.