Statement on PredictIt Plaintiffs' Fifth Circuit Court Hearing

WASHINGTON, February 9, 2023 (Newswire.com) - Aristotle International announced today that more than a dozen plaintiffs in the PredictIt lawsuit against the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) received a hearing on their case before a panel of three federal judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. 

The judge asked multiple questions of the lawyers on both sides. The PredictIt plaintiff lawyers argued that fairness and the Administrative Procedure Act require reasoned decision-making and a detailed explanation before ordering the market to close. That did not happen when the CFTC tried to close the PredictIt market. 

The administrative state has remarkable power, and it is heartening that the Court's questioning was focused on the procedures agencies must follow when exercising that power. 

"We are grateful to the Court for hearing this case so quickly and providing protection against the CFTC's February 15 deadline while it considers the matter. The CFTC's order to close our market is accompanied by no explanation and no detail. It is clearly unfair, and we urged the Court today to declare it illegal," said Michael Edney, counsel for the PredictIt plaintiffs.

Aristotle is the contract service provider for the PredictIt Market, which has operated under No-Action Relief CFTC 14-130 since 2014. 

Requests for the full text of the motion and other press inquiries should be directed to press@aristotle.com. 

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