SEC Moves Yet Again to Quash Ripple’s “Fair Notice” Defense

It is year 2022 and the SEC-Ripple saga continues as the agency files yet another motion to quash the defendant’s “fair notice” defense.

SEC Moves to Quash Ripple’s “Fair Notice” Defense

In a recent tweet James K. Filan, former US attorney and part of defense’s legal team, shared a SEC filing dated Jan 6. Rather uncharacteristically, the filing has cited a reference to one of the court’s rulings in “Fife” case.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The SEC has filed a Letter of Supplemental Authority in support of its Motion to Strike Ripple's Fair Notice Defense. Below are the letter and the case the SEC relies upon.https://t.co/H4tncUYVfR

— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 (@FilanLaw) January 7, 2022

As the agency asserted that the Ripple is using the same “fair notice” argument that was in the “Fife” quashed by the court. SEC stated:

“Indeed, Fife rejected the defendants’ “fair notice” defense at the motion to dismiss stage despite acknowledging the lack of “binding authority” construing the term “dealer.””

The point SEC wants the court to acknowledge is that the same legal parameters that (according to the agency) are bound to the term “investment contract” since 1946 should apply to Ripple’s defense too.

Since the SEC has filed the lawsuit against Ripple, the “fair notice” argument has remained one of the, if not the, greatest defendant’s defenses. Ripple has pleaded to the court that before the SEC eventually filed the lawsuit they neither warned the company nor any other relevant party concerning the illegal sale of XRP (as the agency deems that to be) that was going on for years.

A Brief Rundown

The SEC had filed a lawsuit against Ripple, company’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Co-founder Chris Larsen, for selling XRP tokens under the “investment contract”, while the asset was not registered with the relevant authority as a security.

The lawsuit is anything but an elongated timid case as there is a lot at the stake. The business journalist Charles Gasparino stated that the lawsuit could be the biggest story of crypto space in 2022. As he added, if Ripple wins the SEC’s power to control the crypto would be contained and if the SEC emerges as the victor its power over crypto would be enhanced to the extent that it could go after Ethereum.