XRP lawsuit update: Did the court just deliver ‘a big blow’ to the SEC’s case?

The court has provided back-to-back rulings over the past 24 hours in the ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs, its execs, and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Granted, Denied, Denied, Denied. This is precisely what the court’s latest ruling on the SEC’s motion to notice additional depositions, search the record of more custodians, compel the blockchain company to produce post-complaint transactions and lobbying efforts records, looked like. 

“The motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.”

As a matter of fact, even the first request of the SEC was granted with restrictions. Judge Sarah Netburn merely permitted the regulatory agency to depose five additional people, instead of six. The five people include Ethan Beard, Ron Will, Christian Gil, Phil Rapoport. and Ryan Zagone. With respect to the sixth deponent, the court ruled,

“The SEC’s request for a sixth deposition… is denied without prejudice as unripe.”

Additionally, the court also denied the agency’s plea to search records of its counsels. The judge reasoned that the aforementioned requests were likely to be “privileged communications” that would be “cumulative or duplicate” of searches already performed, thus making the entire process “highly burdensome.”

With respect to the lobbying efforts, the court ruled, 

“Ripple’s fair notice defense centres on the activities of the SEC, not its own behaviours. In the same vein, Ripple’s lobbying efforts regarding the status of XRP are nor relevant; and any relevancy argument is outweighed by the burden of production.”

This particular ruling managed to garner the attention of several people in the community. Popular attorney James K. Filan, for instance, stated that the aforementioned pronouncement is a “good sign” for Ripple’s fair notice defense. 

In what was another recent development, the court also granted the SEC additional time to extend its discovery deadlines. Drawing parallels, attorney Jeremy Hogan said,

“I am getting a vibe from the Judge that she is digging the Fair Notice Defense… This takes away a little sting from the 60 day extension.”

Additionally, attorney John E. Deaton opined that the court is providing a “fair and even hand” with respect to the rulings. He further stressed that the judge highlighting that the fair notice defense centered on the activities of the SEC, and not Ripple’s knowledge or behavior, delivered a “big blow” to the SEC’s case. He added, 

“In short, the SEC is also on trial.”