Texas Blockchain Council and Riot Platforms Secure Favorable Ruling in Lawsuit against several United States energy officials.
An article published on February 22 detailing allegations made by the TBC and Riot that the Energy Information Administration (EIA), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and their leadership of the U.S. Department of Energy intended to acquire “invasive” data from cryptocurrency miners.
The TBC and Riot persuaded the judge, as stated in a filing dated February 23 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, that the continuation of data collection would result in irreparable damage without a temporary restraining order (TRO).
Consequently, a TRO was issued by the court, prohibiting the EIA from mandating that crypto miners complete the survey and disclosing any survey data already obtained.
“The Court finds that Plaintiffs have shown through a verified complaint and supporting evidence that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result if a TRO is not issued.”
Temporary restraining order granted pic.twitter.com/LzYVycdEWK
— Pierre Rochard (@BitcoinPierre) February 24, 2024Riot and the TBC contended that the potential harm comprises irrecoverable expenses associated with survey adherence, a credible threat of legal action in the event of non-compliance, and the exposure of requested confidential information.
Furthermore, there needed to be more discord regarding the time the survey required miners to finish without any remuneration.
The court declared the completion time estimate of approximately 30 minutes, as provided in the EIA, to be “extremely inaccurate.”
In the interim, the TBC and Riot contested the estimation, asserting that the compliance process has thus far consumed more than forty hours.
Based on the presented evidence, the court concluded that TBC and Riot are probable winners of the litigation. Furthermore, it claimed that the EIA improperly exercised its power to obtain approval for the emergency survey, a course of action that the court considered “sufficiently fails to justify such an undertaking.”
“Plaintiffs also demonstrate that they are likely to succeed on the merits. The survey was proposed and approved under an emergency provision of the PRA,” the filing stated.
Additionally, it was specified that the TRO would expire before March 25, aiming to ” maintain the status quo” throughout the four-week duration.
