Ripple and SEC, Both on Their Toes Again, as the Court Orders Filing of Letter Briefs

A sudden splash, while most people keeping their eyes on the SEC-Ripple lawsuit, expected a radio silent until January 14th.

A Sudden Splash

After the court pushed the discovery proceedings to Jan 14th, there was expected to be a long silence. But a recent ruling from Magistrate Judge Sara Netburn has caused both the parties to get on their toes again. In a Dec 4 tweet, Ripple counsel James K. Filan shared a filing that included orders from Judge Sara Netburn, She stated in light of court’s decisions both parties are directed to simultaneously file up to 3 pages long letter briefs by Dec 8 “to supplement their arguments concerning Defendants’ motion to compel, ECF No. 289.”

The direction has come in regards to Ripple’s filing asking the court to compel Ripple to produce three additional email documents. In response to Ripple’s appeal, SEC had filed a motion that argued otherwise, referencing deliberative process privilege.

Deliberative process privilege protects a state institution from being questioned for its decision making processes. According to attorney Jeremy Hogan, the slight change in the law favours SEC.

Further, though the SEC had stated that the documents asked for by Ripple are not relevant to the case, Ripple insisted they are of significant importance.

A Brief Overview

SEC had filed a lawsuit alleging Ripple and its executives of Selling XRP tokens as unregistered securities, on Dec 22nd. While at that very moment most of the analysts thought that it was Ripple in the hot waters, it turned out to be different. As court proceedings have put Ripple in a comfortable position, it is the SEC that seems to be in hot waters now.

In a recent statement, Brad Garlinghouse, CEO Ripple stated:

“Clearly we’re seeing good questions asked by the judge. And I think the judge realizes this is not just about Ripple, this will have broader implications.”