Community lawyers supporting XRP in the ongoing legal battle between Ripple Labs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have offered a pessimistic outlook on Ripple’s recent court order. Jeremy Hogan, a lawyer known for being an active supporter of Ripple in the cryptocurrency community, said via X (formerly Twitter) that he expects Ripple to suffer losses in the latest legal action.
Ripple Will Lose This Time: Pro-XRP Lawyers Argue
Hogan shares his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter) Advert, “The hardest thing for CT is to tell the SEC that they think they will win the case. But here goes: I think the SEC will win this motion.” He explained that even if the court recognizes the SEC’s witness, Andrea Fox, as an expert, it would likely be similar to a previous case in which the court allowed Ripple to depose a witness rather than remove him from the record entirely. Hogan concluded his statement with a humorous yet serious note. “Excuse me while I pray that I am wrong more often than not.”
This discussion was prompted by an update from former defense attorney James K. Filan, who reported that Ripple submitted a letter further supporting the proposal on April 22, 2024. The motion was in response to the SEC’s objection filed a week earlier, on April 29, 2024.
#XRPCommunity #SECGovernment V. #ripple #XRP @ripple filed a letter in further support of the motion to strike the new hearsay on April 22, 2024 and in response to the SEC’s objection to the motion to strike on April 29, 2024. pic.twitter.com/vXW1C22Oso
— James K. Filan (@FilanLaw) May 2, 2024
Bill Morgan, another lawyer defending XRP, said: shared Hogan’s feelings are in a separate post. “I think Ripple will lose her motion, but I think her judge will accept that Fox provided her expert evidence and allow Ripple to depose her,” Morgan said. We will then await a decision on relief after the SEC confirms what it said in its response briefing on relief on May 6.”
In particular, the court dealt with a similar situation in relation to the ‘Ferrante Declaration’ at the beginning of the case. This declaration, like subsequent Fox declarations, was used by the SEC to summarize financial data and calculations regarding Ripple’s financial activities. Ripple opposed the admission of this declaration, but the court admitted it as summary evidence, not expert testimony.
However, Judge Torres allowed this, considering it to be summary evidence permissible under the law, not expert testimony. This decision to relocate is likely what Jeremy Hogan referred to as “just like before”. This represents a precedent for the court to allow Ripple to challenge witnesses through testimony instead of striking them outright.
background in motion
At the heart of the controversy is Ripple’s opposition to Andrea Fox’s SEC expert declaration. Ripple claims this declaration was improperly classified by the SEC. According to Ripple, Fox will conduct an in-depth analytical review of Ripple’s financial records to draw conclusions that will impact key aspects of the case, such as conversion calculations and pre-judgment profits.
According to the filing, “Fox analyzes Ripple’s records, third-party evidence and expert reports. Draw inferences and conclusions about the document. And based on her analysis, we calculate refunds, advance interest, and discount amounts.” Ripple counters the SEC’s portrayal of Fox’s role, emphasizing that this level of analysis requires more than basic arithmetic.
Ripple also accuses the SEC of failing to disclose Fox’s involvement as an expert witness during the discovery phase, which it claims was a requirement under the court’s scheduling order. The filing details that the SEC’s late disclosure to Fox does not comply with its agreed-upon schedule to complete relief-related discovery by February 20, 2024.
“Discovery cannot be ‘complete’ as the court has directed if the SEC has not yet disclosed the testimony the agency will present and the testimony of witnesses that Ripple has the right to accept.”
Moreover, Ripple contrasts Fox’s extensive and detailed declarations, which included expert accounting assessments, with previous summary witness testimony cited by the SEC, which included simple data compilations without analytical interpretation.
Ripple concluded that because Fox’s declaration and the SEC’s approach to her qualifications contradicted its characterization of her as a non-expert, summary witness, her testimony should be struck down for failure to comply with discovery rules.
At press time, XRP was trading at $0.51945.
Featured image from YouTube/CryptoLawTV, chart from TradingView.com