SEC and Ripple submitted motions for summary judgment
In his latest interview with Fox Business, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said that a judge, not a jury, will ultimately decide the Ripple-SEC lawsuit. In a 2020 lawsuit, the SEC accused Ripple and its top executives of selling unregistered securities. According to observers, this case could affect other digital coins, and it is speculated that it will help define the commission’s ability to regulate crypto assets.
Expressing positive expectations in the case, Garlinghouse predicts that the case will not go to trial because he thinks the judge has enough evidence to decide without a jury.
Both the SEC and Ripple submitted motions for summary judgment last weekend, requesting that District Judge Annalisa Torres rule based on the facts provided in their respective filings. Torres now must decide whether to rule in favor of either side or send the case to a jury trial. Garlinghouse believes that the facts of the case are indisputable, so the latter may not happen.
According to FOXBusiness correspondent Eleanor Terrett, who shared information from the Ripple CEO’s interview, “There is no dispute that Ripple sold XRP over the years and there is no dispute that Ripple’s customers use XRP to facilitate cross-border payments over Ripple’s platform.”
Disagreements centered around whether XRP is an investment contract, a special class of security that is regulated by the SEC. According to Ripple, it has never entered into an investment contract with an XRP buyer.
Based on legal precedent, the SEC contends that Ripple’s sales of XRP should have been registered with the SEC.
“The trials and juries are really there to determine whether there is uncertainty about the facts,” Garlinghouse said during the interview. “The facts are not in dispute here. The law is in dispute.”
Key decisions awaited by Ripple
Ripple presently awaits a decision by District Judge Torres regarding the DPP and the attorney-client battle over former SEC official William Hinman’s documents. The decision on the SEC’s objection is currently pending as the matter is being fully briefed.
James K. Fillon says that while he doesn’t know when the Hinman email dispute will be fully and finally resolved, he stands by his prediction that Judge Torres will make an expert motion and summary judgment on or before March 31, 2023. Will decide together.
