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Ripple gains another minor victory in its Securities case

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VIsual Generation 3 Ripple
28
Aug

Source: VIsual Generation – Shutterstock

  • The SEC didn’t oppose the defendant’s motion.
  • The remaining months of 2022 might be critical in this legal battle.

Blockchain firm, Ripple, achieved a small victory in its bid to exonerate itself from SEC’s allegation. In the latest hearing, the SEC didn’t object to Ripple’s pursuit of protection for non-parties appearing in the Daubert challenge motions. Based on the recent updates via Twitter by James K. Filan, “for the Daubert motions, the SEC didn’t object to Ripple’s petition to conceal:

  • The personal details of specific Ripple employees
  • The personal financial details of a particular Ripple staff.
  • Non-parties details.

Ripple had previously sought the court’s permission to protect the details of non-parties such as Ripple’s business partners, crypto participants, and Ripple staff members whose names are included in the Daubert motions. The SEC’s response to Judge Torres regarding Ripple’s sealing petition reads, “the SEC won’t oppose the defendant’s motion. According to the defendant’s representations, it considers the standards of the sealing for these motions to differ from the summary judgment motions.”

The statement further reads, “the SEC admits that the information categories mentioned above can be adequately sealed for summary judgment and has the exclusive right to dispute similar sealing petitions.” This outcome aligns what John Deaton’s prediction regarding the public disclosure of the summary judgment briefings.

Deaton predicted that there would be the revelation of evidence that many may not know. Such evidence includes testimonies of ex-Ripple executives and SEC officials. Earlier, Judge Netburn also approved Ripple’s petition to serve two subpoenas to provide video evidence of public remarks by seven SEC officials. The Judge dismissed the SEC’s claims that Ripple was attempting to reopen a fact discovery. This approval represents another little win for the blockchain firm.

The remaining months of this year will be key

The latest update by James K Filan regarding impending motions to be filed and the Judge’s decisions show that the remaining months of this year would be highly critical for this case. Filan states that there is an expectation that motions for summary judgment would be available by September 15. Also, between October 18 and November 15, all oppositions to the summary judgment would have been sent and answered. Hence, the Judge will make her final ruling after November 15.

Filan predicts that Judge Torres will render her judgment on expert motions and summary judgment by March 31, 2023. Recently, Judge Torres granted the SEC’s motion to prove its previous motion with a comprehensive response. Earlier in the week, the SEC filed a motion to exclude the testimonies of 10 Ripple analysts in a detailed response.

The Ripple team didn’t object to SEC’s motion and allowed 11 pages per reply brief. Some industry analysts believe that the SEC’s decision not to object to the latest Ripple request is a strategic move. However, Ripple has scored wins in this case’s last couple of hearings. Its biggest win was the court’s objection to the SEC’s claim that the client-attorney privilege covers the 2018 Hinman speech.

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