US Judge Directs Ripple & SEC to Convene Discovery Conference
A new turn has taken place in the dispute between the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple. The dispute, which was assailed by SEC through a lawsuit against Ripple and its senior officials/management, is pending adjudication before a US Court.
Judge Sarah Netburn has been hearing the matter and on the last date of hearing passed a subsequent order.
It was reported that on 15th March, 2021, the counsels for Ripple Labs/its officials had moved a motion to compel. In the motion, Ripple’s counsels have asked the Court to pass appropriate orders directing SEC to produce the documentary evidence. Particularly, those documents on the basis of which the lawsuit was filed by the SEC.
Furthermore, through the motion, Ripple apprised the Court that the plaintiff has refused to supply the documents to the defendants. Therefore, the documents are to be sought through seeking appropriate directions from Court against the Regulator.
Ripple’s lawyers further told the Court that the defendant had specifically asked SEC to provide certain documents. Especially those documents, which prove that Ethereum and Bitcoin are totally different from Ripple’s native digital currency, XRP.
In addition, the lawyers for Ripple also claimed that Plaintiff is not cooperating with the defendants. They told the Court that there are certain documents relating to XRP which are in custody and possession of SEC. They claimed that these documents describe the legal nature and structure of XRP.
After hearing the arguments of Ripple’s counsels, and the subsequent counterarguments, the Court passed an order. Through the past order, the Court has asked SEC to cooperate with the defendants and defendants’ counsel. In addition, the Court has asked both parties to arrange a discovery call before the 6th of April, 2021. Furthermore, the Court has strictly directed SEC to ensure compliance with the orders by providing whatever necessary documents are required by the defendants.
When Ripple’s supporters and fans learned about the passing of the order, they were joyous. Some of them remarked that if SEC is going to provide these documents, then more than half of the case will be concluded. According to them, these documents are essential for the Court to arrive at a just and fair decision.
One of the supporters from Twitter namely Kingslayer posted a tweet in which he said that 6th April is the day to be looked for. Massive revelations will be unearthed on the day, he claimed.
Another support who goes by the name CNF said that one thing is for sure that there is something important in these documents. He suggested that the litigants are wary of what is contained therein and therefore one party is refusing to cooperate.
At the pre-trial stage, SEC had claimed that Bitcoin and Ethereum are different than XRP. In fact, SEC denied accepting XRP as one of “cryptocurrencies”.
