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Ripple has made its final submission in its legal battle with the SEC, asking for a ruling in favor of its motion for summary judgment.
Ripple has filed a redacted response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s opposition to its motion for summary judgment, as disclosed in a tweet by pro-Ripple lawyer James K. Filan yesterday.
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP BREAKING:
Ripple has filed its Redacted Reply to the SEC's Opposition to Ripple's Motion for Summary Judgment.https://t.co/wl99qNTFvL— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪 126k (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) December 2, 2022
It is worth noting that it marks the final submission of the blockchain payments company in its legal battle with the SEC. Consequently, all that is left is to wait for Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling. As previously reported, Filan expects this ruling to come on or before the end of March 2023.
In the 56-page long document (if you exclude the introductory pages) seen by The Crypto Basic, Ripple argues that the SEC has failed to show that the statutes of Howey’s test apply to Ripple’s sales of XRP from 2013 to 2020. Noting that the burden lies on the SEC to do so, and it has so far failed to do so, it asserts that the SEC is seeking that the court redefines these statutes.
“The SEC’s position boils down to a view that any time someone buys an asset hoping to make money, and the seller’s interests are even partly aligned with the buyer’s, it is a security subject to registration,” Ripple surmises at the end of its opening statement. “That is not the law, even if the seller uses the sales proceeds to run its business. If Congress wants to expand the securities laws that way, it can do so; but this Court should not.”
Ripple has been straight with the court, unlike the SEC, Ripple General Counsel Stuart Alderoty commented on the submission. According to the Ripple lawyer, the team is proud of the defense it has mounted, not just in defense of Ripple but the entire crypto industry.
This is our final submission where we ask the court to grant judgment in our favor. After two long years, Ripple is proud of the defense we’ve mounted on behalf of the entire crypto industry. We have always played it straight with the Court. Can’t say the same for our adversary.
— Stuart Alderoty (@s_alderoty) December 2, 2022
Attorney John E. Deaton, who represents thousands of XRP holders in the legal battle as a friend of the court (amicus curiae) while admitting that he is yet to read the document, highlighted that Ripple lawyers cited the XRP holders’ brief four times in the submission. In addition, he also says that the Ripple team twice cited the nearly 3000 affidavits from XRP holders.
It bears mentioning that the legal battle between the regulator and the payments firm has spanned nearly two years, causing pain to many XRP holders as the SEC alleges that the crypto is an unregistered security. Moreover, several pundits believe that the case will likely set a precedent that could expand the SEC’s role in crypto regulations to the detriment of the emerging industry if the court rules in favor of the regulator.