Attorney Breaks Down The Good, Bad, And Ugly Events To Expect From The Ripple vs. SEC Case This Month

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Attorney Breaks Down The Good, Bad, And Ugly Events To Expect From The Ripple vs. SEC Case This Month
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Key takeaways

  • Ripple files a motion that undermines the SEC DPP argument.
  • The motion could mean that around 37 documents would have to be turned over by the SEC. 
  • A conclusion to the case does not seem forthcoming. 

While there is hope that the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit might soon reach a conclusion, the time when this will be reached remains uncertain as both parties are still slugging it out in court.

Many controversial observations have been made that make the SEC’s actions seem hesitant and Ripple’s legal team has not been slack in dragging out the points they feel are most to their advantage. A recent point that it has latched onto is that the SEC did not establish a deliberative process to warrant them exercising a Deliberative Process Privilege. In a recent motion filed by Brad Garlinghouse’s lawyer Matthew Solomon, the fintech company has protested the SEC’s insistence on exercising a Deliberative Process Privilege (DPP) for around 37 documents.

The motion argues that the SEC had at no point stated that it was deliberating on the status of XRP as the commission has continuously insisted that the law was clear that digital assets like XRP were securities.

“The SEC has never attested that it commenced a policy process addressing whether to regulate digital assets as securities,” Matthew Solomon’s filing read. “Instead, the entire theory of this case turns on the SEC’s contention that no policymaking or policy process was or is necessary because digital assets like XRP are plainly securities under 75-year old judicial precedent.”

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The filing is good news for Ripple’s defense, but it raises a problem for the SEC. Attorney Jeremy Hogan, who has been following the proceedings avidly predicts that the SEC may be compelled to hand over all the documents that it objected to releasing due to its DPP.

According to Hogan, the documents that are likely to be released also include a particularly suspicious memorandum that contains a “legal analysis of XRP” that was written by the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance. The memo was written and distributed to members of the SEC just a day before Bill Hinman, the division’s former director, gave his now-famous speech declaring Ether isn’t a security.

Meanwhile, the SEC has also filed a motion to compel Ripple to turn over recordings of meetings it had. The latest SEC motion is a follow-up of other motions directed at the same purpose.

Despite the case leaning towards Ripple’s favor, neither party has shown interest in reaching a truce, although observers have suggested and speculated about it. Ripple has even categorically stated that it is not considering settlement. This was revealed by Fox Business’s Charles Gasparino who has also been following the case closely. According to Gasparino, the outcome of the case will have far-reaching consequences on the power of the regulatory body over the crypto-industry.