Judge grants SEC request to file motion for appeal in Ripple case

The SEC has until August 18 to officially file its motion and the defendants will have until September 1 to respond.

Judge Analisa Torres has granted a request from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to leave to file an interlocutory appeal in its case against Ripple Labs. The securities regulator sent a letter to Torres on Aug. 9, saying her decision could affect multiple pending court cases. 

According to United States laws, an interlocutory appeal occurs when a ruling by a trial court is appealed while other aspects of the case are still proceeding.  The decision allows the SEC to build and bring a case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by Aug. 18. Ripple will also will also be able to file an opposition to the appeal. 

The decision comes just a few hours after Ripple Labs voiced opposition to a potential appeal in the case. Ripple’s lawyers put forth three main arguments in opposition against the SEC’s request.

They first argued that an appeal requires a pure question of law, and that the SEC’s request raises no new legal issues that need to be reviewed. They also argued that the SEC’s claims of incorrect court ruling on the matter is not sufficient, and that an immediate appeal will not advance the termination litigation proceedings.

BREAKING: Judge Torres has GRANTED the @SECGov’s request to leave to file an interlocutory appeal in the @Ripple case.

Timeline included pic.twitter.com/QQ7NAQF5sH

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) August 17, 2023

Judge Torres ruled on July 13 that Ripple’s native token (XRP) is not a security when distributed in public sales, but considered XRP a security in institutional sales.

The case against Ripple has been ongoing since December 2020 when the SEC sued Ripple and its two chief executives, Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen, over allegations the company was offering an unregistered security.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Garlinghouse shared his belief that the SEC would face a lengthy appeal process. “As a matter of law, the law of the land right now is that XRP is not a security. Until there is an opportunity for the SEC to file an appeal, which would take years, frankly, we are very optimistic,” he noted. According to Garlinghouse, an appeal against the retail sales ruling would only further solidify the decision that Torres made.

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