Ripple SEC Lawsuit In Limbo as Judge Torres Denies Indicative Ruling on XRP

Just when the XRP community thought the long-running Ripple Vs SEC lawsuit was nearing an end, there has been a twist in the tale. In a massive setback in the XRP lawsuit, Judge Analisa Torres denied both parties’ request for an indicative ruling. The court outlined serious reasons and cited case laws to back up its decision to deny this motion. The crypto markets reacted sharply to the ruling, with XRP price dropping over 5% on Thursday night.

Judge Torres Denies Indicative Ruling In XRP Lawsuit

In an X post, Defense lawyer James Filan revealed that Judge Torres has denied Ripple and the SEC’s motion for an indicative ruling. The court determined that the motion was “procedurally improper,” noting that the request to absolve the crypto firm of some of its obligation to cease the illegal sale of securities and pay the full civil penalty amounts to a motion to vacate significant portions of the final judgment.

Judge Torres stated that the parties have to make such a request under the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, which governs motions for relief from a final judgment. The court further remarked that by styling their motion as one for a settlement approval, Ripple and the SEC failed to address the heavy burden they must overcome to vacate the injunction and substantially reduce the Civil penalty.

As CoinGape reported, the US SEC filed its settlement agreement with Ripple with the court last week. As part of the settlement in the XRP lawsuit, the Commission requested that the court vacate the injunction against Ripple and reduce the monetary judgment to $50 million from $125 million.

However, as Judge Torres noted in her ruling on the motion, relief from judgment under the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure is granted “only upon a showing of exceptional circumstances.” She added that both parties have made no effort to satisfy the burden here, as their request doesn’t even mention the rule.

It is worth mentioning that legal expert Bill Morgan had warned that Judge Torres’ decision on the request was still in the air. He stated that the judge must form a view that the settlement is in the public interest.

What Ripple And The SEC Must Do Next

Legal expert Fred Rispoli explained that Ripple and the SEC will refile the motion under the correct rule. However, commenting on the wording of the court’s decision, he noted that both parties need to get on their knees and beg for the relief as they look to finally settle the XRP lawsuit.

MetaLawMan, another legal expert, had previously warned that it is far from a sure thing that a federal judge would agree to vacate a prior ruling as part of a settlement. He remarked that this was fairly commonplace several years ago, but now, judges have started balking at this in more recent years.

Basically, Judge Torres granting the relief won’t be straightforward even when Ripple and the SEC refile their motion under the correct procedure. She already mentioned that the district court must “determine whether the proposed consent decree is fair and reasonable, with the additional requirement that the public interest would not be disserved in the event that the consent decree includes injunctive relief.”

Ripple’s Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Stuart Alderoty, also commented on Judge Torres’ denial of the motion. In an X post, he affirmed that nothing in the order changes his firm’s wins, including the ruling that XRP is not a security.

He added that the order is about procedural concerns and that both parties are fully in agreement to resolve the case and will revisit the issue with the court together. Following the news, XRP price dropped to $2.35, down over 5% in the last 24 hours.