Justin Sun wins procedural victory as judge keeps his personal claims in public court Tron founder Justin Sun scored a partial win on Aug. 20 in his dispute with World Liberty Financial, after a California federal judge said Sun’s individual claims will remain in open court rather than moving entirely to private arbitration. At a hearing before U.S. District Judge James Donato, the court rejected World Liberty’s push to force every company-related claim into arbitration. Instead, the judge ordered the parties to negotiate which claims brought by Sun’s companies should stay in federal court; any remaining disputes over which claims are arbitrable could be resolved later by the judge. Court records show World Liberty filed a motion in June seeking to compel arbitration and stay the federal case. Sun framed the outcome as a win for public access, saying his individual claims will continue to be litigated publicly and that his team opposed efforts to “force our dispute into secret arbitration proceedings.” Blue Anthem Ltd. and Black Anthem Ltd. joined Sun as plaintiffs when the federal suit was filed on April 21. The August 20 ruling is purely procedural and does not decide the merits of Sun’s allegations. It does not find World Liberty liable for fraud, improperly seizing tokens, or breaching an agreement, nor does it award damages. The next steps require the parties to identify which company claims belong in court and which may be sent to private arbitration. If they cannot agree, the judge will step in to decide. Background and competing claims - Sun’s complaint says he invested $45 million in World Liberty during early WLFI token sales and later sued after his WLFI holdings were frozen. The filing alleges World Liberty used administrative controls in the WLFI smart contract to freeze Sun’s tokens and limit his governance rights, calling those controls an undisclosed “backdoor” that allows freezing, restricting, or burning tokens. - World Liberty denies wrongdoing, saying token sale documents allowed restrictions under certain circumstances and alleging Sun-linked entities violated the terms through token transfers and other conduct. - World Liberty also filed a defamation suit in Florida, accusing Sun of spreading false statements and running a campaign to damage the company and the WLFI token. Sun has called the Florida action a “meritless PR stunt.” Neither case has produced a final ruling on the competing allegations. What to expect next The parties must complete the court-ordered negotiations over which company claims will remain in federal court; any agreement would likely be submitted to Judge Donato or reflected in a later filing. If they remain at odds, the judge could resolve the arbitration question and set a new briefing schedule—court filings indicate some briefing on World Liberty’s separate dismissal request has been paused pending that resolution. Keeping claims in federal court preserves public access to filings and hearings, although either side can still move to seal specific documents, which the judge would decide. No trial date or damages award has been set. The next verified developments should appear as a written court order, a joint filing describing any agreement, or further court submissions addressing the unresolved company claims. Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news