In response to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's request for Judge Analisa Torres to certify an interlocutory appeal of her decision on XRP, Ripple Labs has submitted its opposition. According to the crypto company, "the exceptional circumstances required for interlocutory appeal are absent."
Says Ripple, Court Should Reject SEC's Motion
Ripple Labs responded to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) request for certification of an interlocutory appeal on Friday. The securities regulator is attempting to appeal District Judge Analisa Torres' decision on the "programmatic" offers and sells of XRP over cryptocurrency trading platforms as well as Ripple's "other distributions." Additionally, the regulator requests a stay of the district court proceedings.
The legal team for Ripple wrote:
"The SEC's application for certification should be rejected by the court. The SEC's motion for a stay pending appeal should also be denied by the court."
Ripple claimed in a court document filed on Friday that "the exceptional circumstances required for interlocutory appeal are absent." In the first place, the attorneys representing the crypto company asserted that, in contrast to the SEC's argument, "the court's summary judgment order does not present a controlling question of law suitable for interlocutory appeal." In their second argument, they claimed that the "supposed substantial ground for disagreement is merely the SEC's dissatisfaction with the court's application of Howey to most of the defendants' transactions in XRP."
In addition, according to Ripple's legal team, the SEC "concedes that protracted litigation is necessary regardless of whether its requested interlocutory appeal succeeds." They made a point of emphasizing that this signifies "certification has no chance of hastening the end of this litigation."
The SEC was defeated in court once more this week by a cryptocurrency company. On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld Grayscale Investments' victory over the securities watchdog in a case involving the crypto asset manager's proposed conversion of bitcoin into an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In the Ripple-XRP case, do you believe Judge Analisa Torres will approve the SEC's request for an interlocutory appeal? Comment below with your thoughts and let us know.