OpenSea Sued for $1 Million by a User Who Lost a Bored Ape NFT

A lawsuit against OpenSea was recently filed by Timothy McKimmy — the CEO of an iron ore company in Texas — after his Bored Ape was sold for 0.01 ETH (approximately $26) where hackers took advantage of a bug that allowed them to buy unlisted NFTs. McKimmy claims that he did not put his token for sale, affirming that it was stolen.

The buyer of Bored Ape #3475 immediately made a profit after it was sold for 99 ETH or around $250,000. Bored Ape #3475’s rarity is considered to be in the top 14th percentile, said McKimmy. He goes on to describe that his token’s value is significantly higher than the Bored Ape recently acquired by Justin Bieber at $1.3 million and looks for “the return of the Bored Ape… and/or damages over $1 million.”

In the lawsuit, McKimmy also argues that OpenSea was aware of the bug but it chose not to suspend trading. “Instead of shutting down its platform to address and rectify these security issues, Defendant continued to operate. Defendant risked the security of its users’ NFTs and digital vaults to continue collecting 2.5% of every transaction uninterrupted,” explained the complaint which is now accusing OpenSea negligence and breach of contract.

The platform has since remarked that it is “actively investigating” the issue at hand, but McKimmy appears to be unsatisfied with how it is being dealt with. McKimmy is just among the countless users who have fallen victim to the “inactive listing” exploit which has garnered around $1.8 million in losses.

OpenSea has reportedly been approaching individuals with similar instances, offering them to settle for a refund at the minimum price of their lost NFTs despite the significant disparity between the actual worth of these assets. Additionally, the victims have been allegedly asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement should they accept the offer.

McKimmy’s lawsuit, which was filed on Friday, is also aimed at encouraging the largest NFT platform to toughen up its security measures, especially as it continues to deal with a myriad of controversies such as claims of insider trading last year and the latest phishing attack that occurred just over the past week.

“Plaintiff brings this lawsuit to protect the interests of NFT owners, who reside in countries worldwide and use Defendant’s platform. Plaintiff brings this lawsuit to force Defendant to enact sufficient security measures and address the known susceptibilities in its interface,” noted the complaint.

Sources: Decrypt, Engadget