A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit against National Basketball Association (NBA) team, the Dallas Mavericks, and its former owner, Mark Cuban, over the promotion of the now bankrupt crypto lender Voyager Digital.
Florida Court Tosses Voyager Suit Against Mark Cuban on Jurisdiction Grounds
2 January 2026 - 11:15 CET
By Matt Neill
In a 29-page order, US District Judge Roy K. Altman ruled that the Southern District of Florida lacked personal jurisdiction over Cuban and the NBA franchise, despite Voyager’s nationwide advertising campaign and Florida residents being among those who claimed losses.
The case was dismissed in full without leave to amend, and the court ordered it closed.
The decision turned on where claims can be brought rather than on whether Cuban or the Mavericks violated securities or consumer protection laws, and deals a blow to investor efforts to pursue celebrity endorsers in out-of-state courts.
National promotion, not forum targeting
The lawsuit, filed in 2022, alleged that Cuban and the Mavericks unlawfully promoted Voyager’s crypto lending products, including interest-bearing accounts that later became a focal point of Voyager’s bankruptcy.
Plaintiffs argued that Cuban’s public endorsements and the team’s marketing activities induced them to open accounts and invest.
Judge Altman acknowledged that Voyager engaged in aggressive national marketing, including television advertising during NBA games, social media promotion, and a high-profile press conference involving Cuban. However, he found no evidence that Cuban or the Mavericks directed their conduct specifically toward Florida.
Advertising that is accessible nationwide, including in Florida, is not enough to establish jurisdiction under Florida’s long arm statute or constitutional due process standards, the court held.
Economic losses felt by Florida residents did not convert Texas-based defendants into Florida litigants, absent deliberate state-focused conduct, it found.
Conspiracy theory also rejected
Plaintiffs also attempted to establish jurisdiction by alleging a conspiracy among Cuban, the Mavericks, and other celebrity endorsers of Voyager.
The court rejected that theory, finding that the complaint failed to plausibly allege any coordinated agreement or joint action.
Instead, the order noted that each promoter appeared to have entered into separate contractual relationships with Voyager, undermining claims of a shared scheme sufficient to anchor jurisdiction in Florida.
The ruling reflects growing judicial resistance to forum shopping in crypto-related celebrity cases, particularly in Florida, where many such suits have been filed following high-profile platform collapses.
Voyager’s failure in mid-2022 triggered a wave of litigation against athletes and entertainers who had promoted the platform, some of which settled earlier.
