Learn about the Dapper Labs lawsuit in 2026, who qualifies for compensation, key legal updates, and how to file a claim.
If you ever bought an NBA Top Shot Moment, cheered on your favorite player through NFL All Day, or collected highlights on Disney Pinnacle , there’s a real chance the Dapper Labs lawsuit affects you directly. And I don’t mean abstract, legalese kind By the strategy, I mean the capital in your pocket, the method to submit a claim and get paid.
I remember when NBA Top Shot first Felt blown away. The Wild West Of digital collectibles. People fell by the hundreds, sometimes by the hundreds. Thousands, on the dollar video clips of basketball highlights.
It seemed exciting. Futuristic, even. But behind all that hype, some serious legal problems were quietly brewing. Fast forward to 2026, and Dapper Labs has now faced not one but two major class action lawsuits.
Let’s break down exactly what happened in these cases, what it means for you, and what steps to take if you’re eligible for a payout.
What Is Dapper Labs, and Why Are They Being Sued?
Before we go in. The lawsuits, A quick backstory, because context is critical here.
Dapper Labs is a blockchain technology company Established by Roham Gharegozlou, Based on the original Vancouver, Canada. They exploded the scene with CryptoKitties Back inside 2017, yes, digital cats, Which became very popular they Originally closed the Ethereum blockchain. After that success, Dapper Labs was created. Their own private blockchain Called Flow, And then launched NBA Top Shot In collaboration with the NBA and the NBA Players Association.
The idea Elementary but brilliant was: mint official NBA highlight As a clip NFTs( non- fungible tokens), Sell in them” packs” value digital trading cards, And let community buy, commercialize and trade on the built- in marketplace. But its peak, The NBA made top shots. $ 226 million I monthly trading volume( February 2021). A collector must have kept Moments worth over$ 15.6 million. Sold for a moment. $ 208, 000.
Then the lawsuits started.
Lawsuit #1: The NFT Securities Case (Filed 2021, Settled 2024)
What Was It About?
This is the one that put Dapper Labs in the national spotlight. On May 12, 2021, lead plaintiffs Gary Leuis and John Austin filed a class action complaint in the Southern District of New York, accusing Dapper Labs and CEO Roham Gharegozlou of selling unregistered securities , specifically, NBA Top Shot Moments.
The core argument? Under the famous Howey Test (from the 1946 Supreme Court case SEC v. W.J. Howey Co.), an investment contract is considered a security if: (1) money is invested, (2) in a common enterprise, (3) with the expectation of profits, (4) derived from the efforts of others. Plaintiffs argued that Moments checked every box.
Think about it like this: if you buy a pack of Moments hoping the value goes up because Dapper Labs keeps the platform popular and the marketplace running , aren’t you relying on their efforts to make money? That’s exactly what the lawsuit said. And the court, in a pivotal 2023 ruling, agreed it was a “close call” , but close enough to let the case proceed.
Dapper Labs had full control over the Flow blockchain (a private blockchain, not decentralized), controlled the marketplace, and even used marketing language that suggested financial returns , tweets featuring rocket ship emojis, stock chart emojis, and money bags. The court specifically called those out.
Even more damaging: the lawsuit alleged that Dapper Labs prevented users from withdrawing their money for months. As of March 2021, the company announced withdrawals would take “six to eight weeks” to enable , and once enabled, could take “21 to 40 days or more.” For people trying to cash out during a market dip, that felt like being locked in a burning building.
What Was the Outcome?
Dapper Labs settled the securities lawsuit in 2024 for $4 million. As part of the settlement, the company also agreed to a series of business reforms , including relinquishing control of reserve FLOW tokens to the Flow Foundation, updating its customer wallet infrastructure, and training personnel on compliant marketing practices.
The estimated average payout was about $0.12 per Moment for the approximately 33 million Moments purchased during the class period (June 15, 2020 to December 27, 2021). Not life-changing money , but a real-world signal that NFTs don’t live in a legal gray area forever.
Dapper Labs maintained throughout that NBA Top Shot Moments are not securities. But they settled anyway, as companies often do, to avoid the cost and uncertainty of a full trial.
Lawsuit #2: The VPPA Privacy Case , The Dapper Labs Lawsuit 2026
This is the one most people searching right now care about most. And for good reason , the court granted final approval on April 30, 2026.
What Was It About?
The second case is Ohebshalom v. Dapper Labs, Inc., on file the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Nassau County. This lawsuit Accused Dapper Labs of infringement the Video Privacy Protection Act( VPPA), A federal law was actually passed 1988 to cease video rental Protects movies you’ve watched from sharing. Your consent. ( Yes, it is that conventional. Yes, it still applies to the internet.)
Here’s what allegedly happened: Dapper Labs embedded tracking pixels from companies including Meta, Google, Microsoft, Snapchat, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok on its website pages. These pixels could capture which videos users purchased or viewed , and then send that information to those third-party companies without users ever giving explicit consent.
If you’ve ever clicked on an NBA Top Shot highlight, watched a UFC Strike clip, or browsed NFL All Day videos while logged in , your viewing activity may have been quietly shared with Facebook and Google. That’s the allegation, anyway. And the Dapper Labs lawsuit 2026 settlement suggests it was serious enough to resolve for real money.
Who Is Covered?
The settlement covers anyone who held an active account on any of the following Dapper Labs platforms between June 15, 2020 and January 30, 2025:
- NBA Top Shot (nbatopshot.com)
- NFL All Day (nflallday.com)
- Disney Pinnacle (disneypinnacle.com)
- UFC Strike (ufcstrike.com)
- La Liga Golazos (laligagolazos.com)
If you had an account on any of these platforms during that window, you were likely part of the class , whether you realized it or not. You didn’t have to actively trade. You didn’t have to spend a lot of money. You just had to have an account.
How Much Can You Get?
Up to $5 per person, paid via Zelle, Venmo, or PayPal. I know , it’s not a windfall. But the claim is free to file, takes a few minutes, and the whole point is that Dapper Labs is being held accountable for how it handled your data.
The total settlement fund is $5 million. After attorneys’ fees (capped at one-third, around $1.67 million) and administrative costs, the remaining amount is distributed pro rata among all valid claimants. The more people file, the smaller each individual payout becomes , which is why you shouldn’t wait.
The $5 figure is the maximum per person. The actual amount depends on total valid claims filed.
What Else Did Dapper Labs Agree To?
Beyond the money, Dapper Labs agreed to suspend all six tracking pixels , Meta, Google, Microsoft Bing, Snapchat, X, and TikTok , on any website pages where those pixels could capture the title of a video purchased or viewed. That suspension stays in effect unless and until the VPPA is amended, repealed, or otherwise invalidated by a court.
For a company whose entire business revolves around digital video collectibles and highlight clips, that’s a significant operational change. It signals something important: this wasn’t just about writing a check. It was about changing how data is handled going forward.
How to File a Claim (Step-by-Step)
Since the court granted final approval on April 30, 2026, the claim filing window has technically closed , the deadline was April 15, 2026. If you filed in time, here’s what happens next:
- Claims Review , The settlement administrator reviews all submitted claims for validity.
- Payment Issuance , Approved claimants receive payments approximately 75 days after final court approval, via PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle.
- No Further Action Needed , If you filed a valid claim before the deadline and provided your account credentials (Dapper username and associated email), you’re in the queue.
If you missed the deadline, unfortunately you will not receive a payment from this settlement , and by remaining in the class, you’ve released your right to sue Dapper Labs separately over these claims. If you believe you have a unique individual claim worth pursuing, consulting a class action attorney is worth considering.
Why Do These Lawsuits Matter Beyond the Payouts?
Here’s something I find genuinely fascinating about the Dapper Labs cases: they’re not just about one company’s mistakes. They’re case studies for an entire industry.
The NFT securities lawsuit set a precedent that digital collectibles can be classified as securities if the right factors are present , particularly when one company controls the entire ecosystem. That’s a lesson every NFT platform, sports league partnership, or digital collectibles startup should be studying carefully.
The VPPA privacy lawsuit is equally instructive. It’s a reminder that laws written decades ago can still bite tech companies in 2026. Embedding a Meta Pixel on a page where users watch videos tied to their accounts? That’s VPPA exposure. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blockchain company, a streaming service, or an e-commerce site , if you combine user accounts with video content and third-party tracking, the risk is real.
A Quick Recap: Two Lawsuits, Two Outcomes
| NFT Securities Lawsuit | VPPA Privacy Lawsuit | |
| Filed | May 2021 | 2025 |
| Case Name | Friel v. Dapper Labs | Ohebshalom v. Dapper Labs |
| Allegation | Selling unregistered securities (NBA Top Shot Moments) | Sharing user video data without consent (VPPA) |
| Settlement Amount | $4 million | $5 million |
| Settled | 2024 | Final approval: April 30, 2026 |
| Who Qualifies | NBA Top Shot buyers, June 2020–Dec 2021 | Account holders on 5 platforms, June 2020–Jan 2025 |
| Max Payout | ~$0.12 per Moment | Up to $5 per person |
Key Takings
Look , the Dapper Labs lawsuit story is one of the most interesting legal sagas to come out of the NFT boom. A company that turned basketball highlights into digital gold ended up in federal court over securities law, and then in a New York state court over a 1988 video privacy statute. If that doesn’t show how unpredictable the legal landscape around digital assets can be, nothing will.
For everyday users who just wanted to collect a LeBron James dunk or a Patrick Mahomes highlight reel , getting caught up in all this felt bewildering, I’m sure. But the legal system worked here, in its slow, imperfect way. Two settlements. Two accountability moments. And hopefully, some meaningful changes in how companies handle user data and market digital assets.
If you were part of the world of NBA Top Shot, NFL All Day, or any of those platforms, you were part of this story too. Own it.
Additional Resources
- https://www.classaction.org/news/5m-dapper-labs-settlement-ends-class-action-lawsuit-over-alleged-data-sharing: A trusted class action news source summarizing the Dapper Labs privacy settlement, including eligibility requirements and claim information.
- https://www.dappervppaclassactionsettlement.com: The official court-approved settlement website containing the latest information on eligibility, claim filing, important deadlines, settlement benefits, and payment updates.
