- The SEC and Ripple have had a clash per date availability for trial.
- An amicable settlement is projected to be underway.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple Labs Inc. have presented their calendar in two separate letters showing their availability for the appeal of Judge Analisa Torres’ July 13th ruling in the second quarter of 2024.
There has been a clash over trial availability as Ripple presented a flexible calendar stating that it is ready for the proceeding anytime. On the other hand, the regulator has come up with several constraints challenging its availability.
The SEC’s calendar shows that 19 days over the quarter have been blocked out and this represents 21 percent of the period. Per the SEC’s letter, “the Commission is available for trial during the months of April, May, and June 2024, with the exceptions of April 15 through to April 19, May 1 through May 7, and May 27 through May 31.”
Markedly, the letters were presented to Judge Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York who ruled that secondary sales of XRP do not constitute investment contracts and therefore, the token is not security.
Shortly after the judge’s decision, specifically on July 22nd, there arose talks that the U.S. SEC plans to contest the Ripple Labs case ruling citing that the decision conflicts with existing securities laws. There was also an argument that it misinterpreted the Howey test used for determining securities. Hence, staff of the SEC were considering different avenues for further review which they intend to recommend to the regulator.
On August 9th, the SEC finally sent a letter to Judge Torres seeking a re-examination of her decision by an appellate court. Furthermore, the regulator requested that the judge put the case on hold during the appeal. The request underscored the SEC’s fear that other multiple pending cases involving crypto firms like Binance and Coinbase would be impacted by the outcome of the appeal.
Ripple vs. SEC: Court Approves Motion For Interlocutory Appeal
Noteworthy, the request did not settle well with Ripple which immediately voiced its opposition.
Ripple argued that since the SEC failed to align with the Howey test parameters regarding the distribution of XRP, rejecting the motion for appeal is justified. Also, Ripple believes that the court’s decision is not governed by a predominant legal question and that pursuing an immediate appeal will not hasten the end of the ongoing litigation.
However, the court approved the regulator’s request to pursue an interlocutory appeal. Notwithstanding, many pro-XRP personalities are still confident that Ripple will be victorious as the appeal will further strengthen the position that XRP is not security as Judge Torres ruled.
Ripple Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brad Garlinghouse has expressed his confidence in this possibility, not deterred by the over $200 million that has already been spent on legal expenses during Ripple’s battle with the SEC
