XRP Lawsuit: SEC discards Settlement speculations with its disagreement of Ripple’s Seal appeal

Here is an update on a long running saga that started last year. The final outcomes of which will be of interest to a number of parties. This edition was published in Coingape.com on 11th October and was written by Palak Malhotra. 

The latest update in the XRP lawsuit saw the SEC disagree with Ripple’s exclusive redaction and seal appeal. This dispute refers to the SEC’s Letter Motion Compelling discovery of recordings of defendants’ internal meetings, where Garlinghouse, Larsen & other key employees spoke on topics relevant to disputes in the lawsuit. With the plaintiff’s current position in the case, standing at the losing end, this sudden disagreement could mean a potential cancellation of the former settlement speculations. It appears that the SEC is still not out of bullets to take down Ripple in the ongoing XRP lawsuit. Henceforth, the plaintiff’s weak efforts to settle.

The exhibits in question for seal and redaction include redacted portions of the plaintiff’s October 1 letter motion compelling discovery of ripple’s internal meeting recordings, followed by the exhibits SEC filed under seal in support of the mentioned motion. Furthermore, Ripple also appealed to seal the redacted portions of the defendant’s opposition to SEC’s October 1 motion, along with the exhibits filed, supporting the same. However, the SEC has informed Ripple that it does not agree with the defendant’s proposed redactions, followed by Ripple’s motion to seal certain exhibits.

“The SEC informed Ripple on October 8, 2021, by email that it disagreed with Ripple’s proposed redactions to the Motion to Compel and Ripple’s request to keep the corresponding exhibits filed under seal. The SEC has not taken a position with respect to Ripple’s redaction requests for its Opposition Letter and the attached exhibits filed under seal.”

SEC trembles with its “privileged” documents argument

Coingape’s weekend coverage of the XRP lawsuit noted the SEC’s helpless status in the case as the Court granted Ripple’s September 24 appeal, seeking the addition of three documents by the SEC for in-camera review, that the plaintiff had either redacted or withheld by logging them as “privileged”.

These documents comprise data related to the SEC’s meetings with law firms. Furthermore, it also consists of an email trail concerning discussions with a third party who received guidance from the SEC to analyze its digital asset under the framework set forth in the controversial 2018 Hinman speech.

Read the latest on this issue in my next blog

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