U.S. Judge Transfers Binance Lawsuit to Florida, Citing First-to-File Rule

Federal Judge Barbara Rothstein stated that she approved this motion because the two lawsuits are very similar, which will promote efficiency and avoid duplicate litigation.

A U.S. judge has granted Binance's request to transfer the case related to allegations that the exchange facilitated money laundering to the Southern District of Florida due to a similar case being adjudicated in that court.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2024 in Washington, focusing on the same core issue as the lawsuit filed in June 2023 in Florida, accusing Binance of allowing cybercriminals to use the platform to launder money, Judge of the U.S. District Court Barbara Rothstein said in an order on April 21.

Judge Rothstein stated: "Although the two complaints describe the proposed groups of plaintiffs in slightly different terms, both include the same proposed group of individuals with stolen cryptocurrency transferred into Binance.com accounts during the relevant time period."

"Therefore, this Court concludes that the groups of plaintiffs are sufficiently similar to warrant the application of the first-to-file rule."

The first-to-file rule allows a court to dismiss a ruling on a matter when the related complaint involving the same parties and issues has been filed in another district. Generally, the court that first handles the case typically retains jurisdiction, according to legal resource LSD Law.