The District Judge for the Southern District of New York has received approval for XRP token holders petitioning the US Securities and Exchange Commission to intervene in the ongoing Ripple Labs case.
Judge Allows XRP Holders To File A Motion
The federal judge has accepted the claim by Ripple token holders that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is not adequately advocating their interests in the ongoing lawsuit against Ripple Labs.
District Judge Anna Torres wrote on March 29 that the proposed intervener must file a motion to intervene before April 19, stating that the SEC and Ripple Labs can be filed before mid-May.
Ripple Labs executive attorneys Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen backed up their arguments in a letter filed with the court on March 26th. Both are defendants in the SEC case.
They wrote to Judge Torres, arguing that the six people who attempted to intervene “in order to protect the interests of a putative class of ‘thousands’ of ‘holders’ of XRP” have concerns that are “well-founded” regarding the “lack of clarity” in the SEC’s case.
According to the defendant, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has “conclusory allegations suggesting XRP is always a security,” implying that “every offer, sale, or transaction involving XRP is subject to the panoply of regulatory requirements mandated by the federal securities laws.”
Ripple Fights Back At SEC Over Allegations
The Deaton law firm responded in a letter filed on March 19 on behalf of the token holders. The attorney wrote that the US Securities and Exchange Commission claimed that “from 2013 to the present,” appears to imply that “all XRP constitute unregistered securities, including the XRP in the accounts of the XRP holders.”
Deaton law firm wrote that XRP owners “suffered great prejudice based on these ‘present day’ allegations.” Their request for intervention is based on the fact that they are trying to ensure that “the decision, in this case, takes into account all critical situations of tying of interests and that those interests and related rights are fully and vigorously defended”.
As previously pointed out by law firm Deaton and Ripple Lab’s defendants, SEC actions have caused the value of XRP in circulation to fall by more than $15 billion. HIVE
In a March 26 letter to Judge Torres, the SEC argued that those who intervened were not clear enough and explain what claims they would assert against whom in this action if the Court were to permit them to intervene.”
Not only did the agency point out that Congress “barred by statute the consolidation or coordination of claims without the SEC’s consent, but” it also argued that the proprietor’s appeal was “improper basis.”