Salvatore Palella and micromobility.com Secure Major Court Victory: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Declines to Certify Class Action

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 23, 2026--

micromobility.com Inc. today announced that, in its Opinion and Order dated July 8, 2026, issued in Barron v.micromobility.comInc. et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-04703 (PKC), the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York denied plaintiffs’ motion for class certification in the litigation relating to Helbiz Coin.

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Further, the plaintiffs in the action ( Ryan Barron, Grant Echols, Daniel Grieves, and Andrew Szklarek ) and their counsel failed to timely seek to appeal the District Court’s decision, and the appeal period has expired. As a result, the Court’s denial of class certification is now final, bringing to a close, after more than six years of litigation, the effort to pursue these claims as a class action.

The ruling represents one of the most significant procedural milestones in the case and marks a major litigation victory for micromobility.com and its founder. The Court previously dismissed twelve of the original sixteen named plaintiffs who refused to participate in discovery or personally appear in the action. In this most recent and strongly worded decision, the Court found that the remaining four plaintiffs failed to demonstrate at least two fundamental requirements, which was fatal to their class certification claim.

Salvatore Palella, Founder of micromobility.com, former Chief Executive Officer and the Company’s largest shareholder through Palella Holdings, commented:

“For more than six years, both my name and the Company have been associated with a bogus class action that generated thousands of news articles, television reports and widespread public speculation around the world. Today, that proposed class action no longer exists. A United States federal court denied class certification, and the plaintiffs themselves chose not to appeal that decision.

This is an extremely important moment for me, for the Company and for everyone who continued to believe in the integrity of our conduct. We placed our trust in the American judicial system from day one and chose to defend ourselves exclusively in court, not through media campaigns or public relations.

I want to thank our outstanding legal team, the company’s shareholders, employees, business partners, my family and everyone who stood by us throughout this process.

I have devoted enormous resources to defending not only myself but also the Company and others wrongly named in this lawsuit. I made that commitment because I firmly believe in the merits of our position and in the fairness of the U.S. legal system. I feel vindicated and look forward to finally disposing of this baseless litigation.

We will continue to vigorously defend the Company in the remaining phases of the case with the same determination and confidence that the facts and the law will ultimately prevail.”

Gian Luca Spriano, Chief Executive Officer of micromobility.com, added:

“The Court’s denial of class certification represents a highly significant milestone for the Company. We can now devote our attention to executing our strategic plan, expanding our business and creating long-term value for our shareholders. We remain committed to the highest standards of corporate governance, transparency and accountability, while maintaining complete confidence in the U.S. judicial system and in the integrity of our actions.”

Over the past six years, the Barron case has received extensive international media coverage, generating thousands of news articles, television reports and online publications. Despite the Defendants’ steadfast denials, allegations that remained unproven and subject to judicial review were falsely presented as established facts.

In light of the Court’s ruling and plaintiffs’ decision not to appeal, micromobility.com and Salvatore Palella have instructed their legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive review of publications issued over the past six years in order to evaluate all appropriate actions to protect the reputation of the Company, its founder, its shareholders and all other stakeholders.

That review will also include media reports and television programs that devoted substantial coverage to the Barron case, including broadcasts that placed significant emphasis on the proposed class action, where the facts may have been presented inaccurately, misleadingly or inconsistently with the actual procedural posture of the litigation.

The Company will continue to vigorously defend its interests throughout the remaining stages of the proceedings while maintaining full confidence in the United States judicial system.

Aboutmicromobility.com

micromobility.com Inc. is an international mobility and technology company focused on sustainable urban transportation solutions. The Company is committed to developing innovative mobility platforms while creating long-term value for customers, business partners and shareholders.

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Salvatore Palella and micromobility.com Secure Major Court Victory: The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Declines to Certify Class Action

WASHINGTON (AP) — A key Republican lawmaker says he believes that special counsel Jack Smith may have lied to Congress while testifying about his investigation of President Donald Trump and that the Justice Department should consider prosecuting him. Lawyers for Smith deny the allegation and say he testified truthfully.

Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, referred Smith to the Justice Department on allegations he made false statements during closed-door testimony about whether he had obtained records of lawmakers while investigating Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss.

The referral, sent Wednesday, centers on a December 2025 exchange in which Smith was asked about subpoenas that prosecutors had issued for the toll records of some Republican lawmakers as part of the investigation. Toll records show the time, date, length of call and phone numbers involved but do not reveal the content of the communication.

“Did the toll records that you requested from the Senators, did they include the content of the phone calls?” Smith was asked.

“No,” he said. He again answered no when asked whether the toll records he had requested included the content of text messages.

Jordan, in his referral, says that that answer was misleading in light of newly released records from Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa showing that Smith had obtained the contents of 44 lawmakers' text messages in a separate subpoena to the National Archives and Records Administration that sought the communications of various Trump advisers and aides.

“The responses provided by Mr. Smith gave the impression that neither Mr. Smith nor his team had access to the content of Members’ privileged text messages. We now know this to be false,” Jordan wrote.

In a letter to Jordan and Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Smith's lawyers called his answers “unimpeachably truthful” and noted that he was responding explicitly to questions about toll records, which did not include the contents of any text messages.

A criminal referral to the Justice Department from Congress or any other party has no legal authority and does not compel prosecutors to act. But the department under the Trump administration has proved to be eager to investigate and in some cases prosecute foes of the president. Smith is certainly one such adversary, with Trump having called him “deranged” and urging his prosecution.

“During his testimony, Mr. Smith provided truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel,” wrote Smith's lawyers, Peter Koski and Lanny Breuer. “This referral reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant who faithfully and fearlessly performed his duties by following the facts and the law.”

The Justice Department in a statement Wednesday night confirmed receipt of the referral and said it “will investigate all evidence of criminal conduct.”

Smith charged Trump with conspiring to undo the election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden and with hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, after his first term in the White House. Smith abandoned both prosecutions after Trump's election win in November 2024, citing longstanding Justice Department opinions that say sitting presidents cannot face federal indictment.

Smith resigned from the Justice Department in early 2025, 10 days before Trump was inaugurated again.

FILE - Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, second from right, arrives before a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks before the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

FILE - House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, points with the gavel during a House Judiciary Committee hearing, June 4, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, FIle)

FILE - Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith takes an oath before the House Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)