Riot Blockchain Again Avoids Shareholder Pump-and-Dump Lawsuit

Riot Blockchain Inc. can again avoid a lawsuit by investors who say it worked with larger shareholders to drive up its stock price and then dump shares into the artificially inflated market, a federal court in New Jersey ruled.

The investors say the company shared false and misleading statements and concealed transactions between Riot and controlling shareholders. The plaintiffs also told the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey that stockholders failed to disclose their control of Riot and related-party transactions in violation of the Securities Exchange Act.

The plaintiffs, who hoped to be certified as a class, …