In this weekend’s Legal Briefs, attorney Jeremy Hogan talks about the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) big legal Gambit, the importance of the upcoming hearing this Tuesday, touches on BitBoy’s settlement prediction, and gives new timeframes for the case based upon the recent extension request. After that, Hogan noted that the Ripple lawsuit’s discovery phase doesn’t end until November 12th.
Attorney and crypto legal expert Jeremy Hogan
Ripple may have to wait before settling SEC lawsuit
In the new video, Hogan said Ripple might have to wait several months before trying to settle its lawsuit with the SEC. As you all know, the SEC sued Ripple late last year for allegedly selling XRP as a security.
Also, AZCoin News reported, Ripple and the SEC have filed a joint motion, asking Federal Judge Analisa Torres to extend the current expert discovery deadline to November 12th. The extension is needed to depose CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen, the company’s two top executives named individual defendants in the high-profile cryptocurrency case.
But, according to Hogan, Hogan notes that the lawsuit’s discovery phase doesn’t end until November 12th, which makes it hard for either party to negotiate a settlement if they still don’t know the extent of the other side’s case.
“The problem with a settlement between now and November 12 is that the parties won’t know how strong each side’s position is until after discovery closes. So even if we are looking at a slap on the wrist settlement of millions of dollars – which is kind of funny to say – how many millions are we talking about? 10? 20? 200? A thousand? Do you think Ripple isn’t going to care about the difference between paying $20 million versus $200 million? I think any business cares about that and is willing to wait an extra couple of months to save millions of dollars potentially”, he stated.
Hogan said that the SEC has a lot riding on proving that Ripple had fair notice or prior knowledge that XRP was security and likely won’t negotiate a settlement until that motion is seen through.
“I don’t see much impetus for the SEC to settle until that hearing is heard. In other words, if they can’t bury the defense, they turn around and pay, which in our case would mean get the case settled. Because what I know for a fact is that Ripple wants this case over with, with the caveat that the markets have to feel comfortable with any settlement and XRP gets re-listed, which means that the ‘problem child’ here is the SEC, and if the SEC’s gambit fails, that’s when the litigation has the best chance at resolving”, Hogan said.
Finally, he argues:
“Otherwise, we are still looking at the Ripple case reaching the judge on summary judgment in early 2022.”
Read more:
- XRPL Labs Unveiled “Lite Accounts” Proposal: New Accounts Can Be Activated With One XRP Only
- Is There A Chance For An XRP Price Boom In Light Of The New Developments In The Lawsuit?