While investors had expected a prompt decision, the court case dragged on with new motions and deadlines on a weekly basis. Recently, in response to the SEC’s move for summary judgment, Ripple and individual defendants opposed the SEC and filed a memorandum of law.
Based on the motion of summary judgment, SEC requested the court to pass the final verdict on the basis of available evidence and close the case. It should be noted that both parties have previously submitted the aforementioned motion, arguing that the proof they have already provided is sufficient to support a decision.
Meanwhile, the defendants, including the CEO and ex-CEO of Ripple, namely Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, disagreed with the SEC’s request for summary judgment.
What opposition says about the SEC’s Summary Judgment motion?
An SEC lawyer’s statement that “an agency may not bootstrap itself into an area in which it has no jurisdiction” caught the attention of Ripple’s defense team.
Here is the preliminary statement of the defendant:
“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.”
Additionally, the SEC’s hypotheses were deemed “insufficient” and “internally inconsistent” by Ripple’s legal team, who also asserted that the agency had no basis for its position. The defendants continue by arguing against every SEC prosecution pillar, providing additional proof of the agency’s incompetence.
Here is the statement that relates to the SEC’s primary justification for bringing the case in the first place:
“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.”
Is the case finally in Ripple’s favor?
Stuart Alderoty, General Counsel for Ripple, expressed his confidence in the favor of the company’s luck.
The executive said, “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.”
He also added that the Hinman documents that Ripple lawyers cited to prove their point was “well worth the fight.”
In more detail, William Hinman served as the SEC’s former director of the Corporation Finance Division. In a speech he gave in June 2018, Mr. Hinman discussed his views 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.
Although the dispute is still ongoing, Ripple executives have stated that they hope for a “just ruling.”
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