The legal dispute between Ripple Labs and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) takes on a new shape with the recent allegation from Ripple’s legal team. The company’s lawyers said the SEC’s request to review additional financial documents is both untimely and irrelevant to the case.
As reported on January 19, Ripple emphasized that the SEC changed its strategy in the discovery phase of the lawsuit, a period in which both parties must share relevant documents. The SEC, on January 11, requested that Ripple provide audited financial statements for the years 2022 and 2023, as well as details of contracts related to the sale or transfer of XRP.
Ripple, however, highlighted that the deadline for requests for material during the fact-finding phase ended in August 2021. Ripple’s legal team highlighted that the SEC had “ample opportunity” to request the necessary documents earlier. “The parties have previously litigated whether post-complaint discovery was adequate, and in the course of this discovery dispute, the SEC never argued that post-complaint discovery was relevant to remedies,” the defense stated.
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP Ripple has filed its Response Opposing the SEC’s Motion to Compel.https://t.co/nICsqSxuXA
— James K. Filan (@FilanLaw) January 19, 2024
Furthermore, it was emphasized by Ripple that the court should not be influenced by the SEC’s representation of the blockchain payments technology company. “The Court should not go down the slippery slope that the SEC is paving,” Ripple lawyers argued.
On an additional point, Ripple claimed that the SEC used all of its interrogatories, a series of questions that the commission could pose to Ripple before trial. “And lastly, with regard to the SEC’s interrogation in particular, the SEC has used all of its interrogatories in the case and cannot grant itself more unilaterally,” the document highlighted.
The trial, expected to begin in April, is a continuation of the case initiated by the SEC against Ripple in December 2020. The accusation was that the company raised funds through the sale of unregistered securities through XRP. However, Ripple achieved a partial victory in July 2023 when the judge ruled that XRP is not a security in programmatic sales on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Recently, Ripple Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty referred to the SEC as an “out of control regulator,” highlighting ongoing tensions between the company and the regulator.
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Source: https://portalcripto.com.br/batalha-judicial-ripple-vs-sec-disputa-sobre-documentos-financeiros/
