NBA Top Shot

NBA Top Shot Class Action

NBA Top Shot class actions explained by case, court, class period, settlement amount, claim status, and the documents collectors should verify.

DeFi Farmer Research Desk

Aug 30, 2026 · 13 min read

In brief. NBA Top Shot users have encountered several separate cases. Friel concerned alleged unregistered securities and settled for $4 million. Fan concerned an alleged Meta Pixel privacy disclosure and settled for $7.05 million. Ohebshalom is a separate $5 million privacy settlement covering several Dapper products. Deadlines and releases differ, so match every notice to its case number before acting.

On this page11 sections

An abstract NBA Top Shot collectible branching into separate privacy and securities case files

nba top shot class action search results keep folding separate lawsuits into one story, which makes an old claim deadline look current and a privacy settlement look like a ruling that Moments were securities. Three proceedings matter most. Their allegations, class definitions, settlement funds, and releases are different.

Start with the case name, docket number, court, class period, and official administrator domain before opening a claim link.

Match your notice to the right case

Quick case map

ProceedingCore allegationCovered period or classSettlementStatus checked August 24, 2026
Friel v. Dapper Labs, 1:21-cv-05837-VMMoments were allegedly promoted, offered, and sold as unregistered securitiesPurchases or acquisitions from June 15, 2020 through December 27, 2021$4 million gross fund plus business changesFinal approval entered October 28, 2024; distribution later authorized
Fan v. NBA Properties, 3:23-cv-05069-SISubscriber information was allegedly disclosed to Meta without proper consentUS persons with active Facebook and NBA Top Shot accounts from June 15, 2020 through January 30, 2025$7.05 million fund plus prospective pixel restrictionsFinal approval entered December 2025; claim deadline passed
Ohebshalom v. Dapper Labs, 615987/2025Subscriber information was allegedly disclosed through several tracking pixelsActive accounts on listed Dapper product sites during the defined class period$5 million gross amount plus prospective changesSeparate New York state proceeding; consult its official site for current administration status

The table is a routing device. It cannot tell you whether a release applies to a particular purchase, household, account, or later claim.

  1. 01

    Identify

    Copy the plaintiff name, defendant names, court, and docket number from the notice.

  2. 02

    Classify

    Separate a securities-purchase claim from a video-privacy or tracking-pixel claim.

  3. 03

    Verify

    Open the administrator from a court filing or official settlement document, then check dates and eligibility.

  4. 04

    Preserve

    Keep the notice, claim confirmation, account records, and payment record with the release language.

The same NBA Top Shot account can appear in more than one settlement class because each proceeding addresses a different alleged injury and release.

Friel addressed alleged securities violations

The 2021 federal action put the legal treatment of NBA Top Shot Moments at its center. Plaintiffs alleged that Dapper Labs and Roham Gharegozlou violated federal securities law in connection with Moments. Defendants denied wrongdoing.

In February 2023, the district court denied a motion to dismiss. That procedural ruling allowed the pleaded case to continue. It was not a final holding that every Moment is a security, and it did not decide liability after a trial.

The parties later settled. The official Friel settlement site states that the gross fund was $4,000,000, plus accrued interest, before approved fees, expenses, taxes on interest, and administration costs. It covered people who purchased or acquired Moments between June 15, 2020 and December 27, 2021, subject to the full exclusions and definitions.

The notice estimated an average gross recovery of $0.12 per Moment across roughly 33,037,779 acquired Moments. It warned that an individual payment depended on recognized loss, transaction dates, purchase and sale prices, and valid claims. A person holding ten expensive Moments could therefore receive a different amount from someone who traded ten cheap ones.

The court's October 28, 2024 final judgment approved the settlement for settlement purposes and dismissed released claims with prejudice. In 2025, the court authorized distribution to approved claimants. None of that converts the allegations into an admission by Dapper.

The distinction matters for market analysis. A denial of a dismissal motion asks whether the complaint plausibly states claims under the governing standard. Final settlement approval asks whether the compromise is fair, reasonable, and adequate for the class. A merits judgment after evidence would answer another question. Friel ended by settlement.

Fan addressed Meta Pixel privacy allegations

A notice mentioning Facebook, Meta, subscriber information, or the Video Privacy Protection Act points toward Fan rather than Friel.

The plaintiffs alleged that NBA Properties and Dapper Labs disclosed personally identifiable information about NBA Top Shot subscribers to Meta through the Meta Tracking Pixel without proper consent. The defendants denied violating the law. The court did not decide which side would have won at trial.

The official Fan FAQ defines the class as people in the United States who had both an active Facebook account and an NBA Top Shot account from June 15, 2020 through January 30, 2025. Read the governing agreement for exclusions and operative wording.

Its $7.05 million fund covered valid claimant payments along with administration, notice, approved fees, costs, and service awards. The pre-approval estimate was roughly $36 to $122 for a valid claimant. That range was an estimate tied to claim volume. It was never a guaranteed check amount.

The published claim deadline was December 16, 2025. The amended final approval order was entered after the December hearing. The prospective relief required suspension of the Meta Pixel on the NBA Top Shot website unless specified legal or compliance conditions allowed its use.

Someone who bought a Moment during the Friel period and also had the two accounts described by Fan could fit both class definitions, subject to each agreement. The claims still remain separate. One dealt with an alleged investment transaction. The other dealt with alleged information disclosure.

Ohebshalom is a third privacy settlement

Another notice can look almost identical because it also invokes the VPPA and Dapper websites.

The official Ohebshalom settlement site describes a $5 million gross settlement in New York state court. It covers defined active accounts across NFL All Day, Disney Pinnacle, UFC Strike, NBA Top Shot, and La Liga Golazos during the stated class period.

The allegations concern disclosure of subscriber information to various third parties through tracking technologies. The prospective terms list Meta, Google, Microsoft Bing, Snapchat, X, Reddit, and TikTok pixels under specified conditions. Dapper denies violating the law.

This overlap is awkward. An NBA Top Shot user may see Fan and Ohebshalom notices with similar dates while each document releases claims against a different defendant set and for defined conduct. The cash terms also differ. Use the administrator domain and case caption, then read the release.

Never infer eligibility from a social post showing a payment screenshot. Administrators validate records under the agreement. Public anecdotes cannot establish another person's account dates or exclusions.

Field noteHow I separated the cases

I opened the three administrator sites, matched each caption and docket, and compared the class period, alleged conduct, fund, deadline, and final-approval documents. I did not contact an administrator or review a reader's private claim file. Court dockets and administrator notices control over this summary.

What settlement language means

Legal vocabulary tends to flatten when it reaches crypto timelines. A few terms deserve their full weight.

Allegation means a party asserted a fact or legal theory. It has not automatically been proven.

Motion to dismiss denied means the case survived a particular challenge at the pleading stage. The court may assume well-pleaded facts for that analysis.

Settlement class certification commonly applies for administering a settlement. It does not necessarily mean the same class would have been certified for trial.

Final approval means the court approved the settlement under the relevant procedure. Defendants can settle while continuing to deny liability.

Dismissed with prejudice generally bars the released claims from being filed again by bound class members. The exact release and opt-out history decide the reach.

Distribution order authorizes the administrator to send the net fund according to an approved allocation plan. It can arrive months after final approval because claims need review and checks can become stale.

How to verify a settlement message

Scammers borrow real case names. A legitimate caption pasted into a false domain still leads to theft.

Begin with a court document or an official administrator page found through a filing. Compare the URL character by character. An extra hyphen in a long settlement name is easy to miss on a phone screen.

Then inspect the request. A normal claim process may ask for contact and account information needed to identify a class member. It should not require a seed phrase, private key, wallet-drainer signature, remote desktop access, or an advance payment to release an award. Review digital wallet scam warning signs before connecting a wallet to an unexpected site.

Do not assume an email was false merely because a deadline passed. Administrators may send deficiency notices, tax forms, replacement-check instructions, or distribution updates later. Confirm the phone number and mailing address against the official site before replying.

If the message involves a payment method such as Venmo or a digital prepaid card, access the provider through its known app or typed domain. Avoid the message's shortened links. Keep screenshots and full email headers when something looks wrong.

Payments, taxes, and records

A settlement payment can have tax consequences depending on what it replaces, how the agreement allocates it, and a recipient's circumstances. An NFT purchase-loss recovery can present different issues from a privacy payment.

Do not guess the tax character from the memo line. Preserve the settlement notice, allocation plan, payment statement, any Form 1099, original Moment transaction history, and prior tax reporting. A tax professional can map the payment to basis, previously claimed losses, legal fees, and the underlying claim.

Crypto transaction exports also change over time. Download them while the account is accessible. The crypto tracking spreadsheet explains a basic evidence trail, though a spreadsheet does not replace source statements.

If a payment arrives after an account holder's death, through a business account, or to a person outside the United States, get professional advice. Class notices often use tax definitions that differ from account-login details.

Case-matching checklist

  1. Copy the full caption

    Record the plaintiff, defendants, docket number, court, and administrator domain exactly as shown.

  2. Name the alleged conduct

    Decide whether the notice concerns a Moment purchase, a Meta Pixel disclosure, or broader tracking across Dapper sites.

  3. Read the class definition

    Check location, account status, purchase dates, product sites, exclusions, and any Facebook-account requirement.

  4. Check procedural status

    Find the filed complaint, preliminary order, final judgment, distribution order, and appeals information where applicable.

  5. Inspect the release

    Identify released parties, released conduct, class period, and the effect of any valid opt-out.

  6. Secure the contact path

    Use contact details published by the official administrator. Never provide a wallet seed phrase or pay an award-release fee.

  7. Preserve records

    Store claim confirmations, transaction exports, notices, tax forms, payment records, and correspondence together.

When to speak with a lawyer

Contact a qualified lawyer when a release could affect a separate claim, a deadline was missed because notice went to an old address, the account belonged to a minor or estate, or substantial trading losses are involved.

Professional advice also makes sense if someone opted out, received conflicting administrator decisions, or has evidence of identity theft connected to a tracking disclosure. Statutes of limitation and arbitration terms can be fact-specific.

Do not submit duplicate claims under altered names or accounts. False statements can lead to rejection and other consequences. Correct an error through the administrator's documented process.

Three things to do

  • Match the case number before reading any payment estimate.
  • Use the official administrator documents to check status and deadlines.
  • Keep the release beside the payment and transaction records.

NBA Top Shot class action FAQ

Was NBA Top Shot ruled to be a security?

Friel survived a motion to dismiss and later ended in a settlement. The settlement did not create a trial judgment declaring every NBA Top Shot Moment a security, and defendants denied wrongdoing.

How much was the NBA Top Shot class action settlement?

There is no single amount. Friel had a $4 million gross securities settlement, Fan had a $7.05 million privacy settlement, and Ohebshalom describes a separate $5 million gross privacy settlement covering several Dapper sites.

Can I still file an NBA Top Shot claim?

The published Friel and Fan claim deadlines have passed. Ohebshalom has its own dates and rules. Check the official site for the exact proceeding and consult counsel about a missed deadline rather than using a third-party form.

Why did one person receive a different payment?

Allocation formulas, recognized losses, transaction history, valid-claim counts, fees, administration costs, and the specific settlement can all change a payment. A screenshot does not reveal those inputs.

Is a settlement email asking for my wallet legitimate?

Verify the sender and administrator through filed court documents. No legitimate administrator needs a seed phrase or private key, and an unexpected token approval or wallet signature should be rejected.

Sources

Preserve primary documents, transaction history, counterparties, and dates before relying on a headline or social post.

Build a crypto evidence file
DeFi Farmer

DeFi Farmer Research Desk

Source-first research for safer onchain decisions.

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