In its latest court filing, the legal team representing Ripple Labs – the company behind the XRP token – argued that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) doesn’t have the grounds to request an appeal.
This comes as the SEC looks to dispute Ripple’s partial victory after Judge Annalisa Torres ruled – in July – that XRP doesn’t classify as a security when sold to retail investors.
In its interlocutory appeal, the commission stated that an appeal was merited “because they involved controlling questions of law as to which there are substantial grounds for difference of opinion.”
Ripple Calls For Denial Of SEC’s Request To Appeal Or Stay
On Friday, September 1, Ripple’s lawyers stated in a new filing to the US District Court for the Southern District of New York that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s appeal request is merely based on “dissatisfaction” with the court’s decision.
The court filing read:
The supposed substantial ground for disagreement is merely the SEC’s dissatisfaction with the Court’s application of Howey to most of Defendants’ transactions in XRP.
In its appeal request, the SEC claims it is pursuing what is simply a “legal question” applicable to every digital asset case. However, Ripple’s legal team believes that the court’s summary judgment does not present “a controlling question of law suitable for interlocutory appeal”.
Furthermore, Ripple said that the commission has not tried to meet the standard for a stay, even after the Individual Defendants (CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen) pointed it out in their pre-motion letter.
Ultimately, the defendants’ attorneys asserted that “exceptional circumstances required for interlocutory appeal” were nonexistent in the request. For this reason, they urged the judge to deny any request for an appeal or stay.
Judge Torres Will Not Grant This Interlocutory Appeal, John Deaton Says
Ripple’s latest opposition to the SEC has generated reactions from prominent figures in the crypto-legal space, including pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton and Coinbase’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal.
On Friday, Deaton expressed – via a series of posts on X (formerly Twitter) – that Ripple’s opposition against the SEC’s appeal request is strong. When asked by a random X user if the commission’s appeal will get certified, Deaton replied “No way, IMO”.
No way IMO.
— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) September 2, 2023
Grewal, Coinbase’s CLO, pointed out the inconsistent manner in which the SEC has been handling its cases. “Nothing but ‘facts and circumstances’ one day. Until it’s all a ‘pure question of law’ the next,” he said.
Furthermore, Grewal hailed the work of the Ripple legal team, saying they “appropriately lay waste to this (SEC’s) hypocrisy”.
As of this writing, XRP is trading at $0.4952, with a 5% price decline in the past week.
XRP price trades beneath the $0.5 mark | Source: XRPUSDT chart from TradingView
Featured image from iStock, chart from TradingView