James Howells, who lost a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins in a British landfill 12 years ago, says he has re-appealed a High Court ruling that banned him from excavating the landfill. He will now try to win a lawsuit against the city of Newport using AI.
James Howells, who lost a hard drive containing 8,000 Bitcoins in a British landfill 12 years ago, says he has re-appealed a High Court ruling that banned him from excavating the landfill. He will now try to win a lawsuit against the city of Newport using AI.
Howells states that he filed both an application for leave to appeal and an appeal on the merits «against the judgment and final order made by Justice Keyser K.S.»
«I remain confident in the merits of my appeal and firmly believe that I have the legal grounds required by law to succeed in my arguments», — Howells told Protos.
In January 2025, Judge Keiser said Howells' case had «no realistic prospect of success» and dismissed it at a High Court hearing. Newport City Council has repeatedly said the proposed excavation would breach environmental permits and have «enormous adverse environmental impacts».
Howells filed the lawsuit last October after threatening to bankrupt the city council over its repeated refusal to let him excavate the lost crypto vault. A judge ruled against him as the owner of the BTC, which Howells said ruined all his plans to tokenize the lost coins.
It is reported that Howells parted ways with his legal team after a court defeat this month and is now representing himself with the help of a «specialized AI agent who has undergone special training in UK law.» His previous team agreed to represent him pro bono in exchange for a percentage of the lost BTC.
«Given the complexity of my case, it was difficult for me to fully instruct my new legal representatives in the required timeframe. Having a deep understanding of all the nuances of my case, I decided to represent myself personally in the upcoming appeal», — the man said.
Howells said he knows his stuff, knows the law, and with the help of a specialized AI agent, he is confident in his ability to win the appeal. 8,000 Bitcoin is currently worth more than $800 million.
