SEC vs. Ripple Update: Defendants Oppose To Plaintiff’s Motion For Summary Judgment

YEREVAN (CoinChapter.com) – While many investors hoped for a quick verdict, the court proceedings drag on with new motions and oppositions to those motions. In the latest development, Ripple labs opposed to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) motion for summary judgment.

In detail, the motion of summary judgment means that the SEC requested the court to reach a verdict based on the available pieces of evidence, drawing the lawsuit to a close. Notable, both sides have previously filed the said motion, claiming that the evidence they have already presented would be enough for a ruling.

Meanwhile, the defendants, aka Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and ex-CEO Chris Larsen, opposed the SEC’s summary judgment motion.

Opposition to the SEC’s Summary Judgment motion

Ripple’s defense team latched on to a quote by the SEC lawyers that claimed: “an agency may not bootstrap itself into an area in which it has no jurisdiction.”

In its Motion for Summary Judgment, the SEC is trying to do just that. After nearly two years of pleadings, discovery, and motion practice, the SEC still has no viable legal theory to support its central claim that the Defendants had to register XRP as a security under the Securities Act of 1933.

read the Defendant’s preliminary statement.

Additionally, Ripple’s lawyers claimed that the SEC has no leg to stand on and called the agency’s theories “insufficient” and “internally inconsistent.” The Defendants then go on to argue every SEC prosecution pillar, giving more evidence of the agency’s incompetence.

Ripple’s sole obligation was to maximize value for its equity shareholders. It had no obligation, legal or otherwise, to act for the benefit of XRP holders.

the Statement went on.

The statement above relates to the SEC’s main reason for filing the lawsuit in the first place: the argument that XRP is an “unregistered security” and falls under the SEC’s jurisdiction.

Ripple win underway?

Stuart Alderoty, Ripple’s general counsel, asserted his confidence in the company’s eventual win

I’ve always felt good about our legal arguments, and I feel even better now. I always felt bad about the SEC’s tactics, and I feel even worse about them now.

said the executive.

He also commented that the Hinman documents Ripple lawyers attained were “well worth the fight.”

NOTE: The fact that the SEC didn’t extend the “securities” claim to larger cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum became the cornerstone of the lawsuit and one of the primary defense fronts. Furthermore, the defense cited what is now referred to as the “Hinman Speech” to prove their point.

In detail, William Hinman is the former Director of the Corporation Finance Division at the SEC. In his June 2018 speech, Mr. Hinman voiced his position on defining digital assets.

Putting aside the fundraising that accompanied the creation of Ether, based on my understanding of the present state of Ether, the Ethereum network and its decentralized structure, current offers and sales of Ether are not securities transactions.

said the former official.

The lawsuit is not over yet, but Ripple executives have expressed their hope for a “just ruling.”

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