Ripple Vs SEC: Regulator Tries To Delay Releasing Hinman Memos

Legal proceedings between the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Ripple have stretched on for nearly two years. The SEC has now appealed to further delay releasing crucial internal memos related to its stance on XRP as a token.

The commission filed a request to present its objection against Judge Netburn’s recent ruling  over documents related to Former Director William Hinman’s now infamous speech on Ethereum (ETH). Netburn had ruled that memos concerning Hinman’s speech were not shielded by deliberative process privilege.

SEC seeks another extension

The SEC is now seeking an extension of at least 14 days to object to the court’s January and April orders, which require it to release memos related to the Hinman speech. However, it mentioned granting additional time after Judge’s upcoming rulings over privilege applications.

SEC’s approach toward the lawsuit has been garnered controversy, on the regulator’s repeated appeals to delay proceedings. The court’s latest ruling, specifically considering Hinman’s speech, mentioned that SEC should not argue over this matter as it will be dissent from the conclusion. Now, the commission wants to raise privilege assertions to the speech documents in a single brief.

This time the commission has intended to file a motion with an assertion of the attorney-client privilege. It also wants edited portions of the memos to be left out on the basis of deliberative process privilege  grounds.

Will summary judgment will be delayed?

The SEC has mentioned that no other case-related deadlines would be affected by this extension plea. It also added that the defendants would not like to proceed to the summary judgment without a complete decision over their motion challenging some SEC’s privilege assertions.

Both the parties are scheduled to meet a submit a proposed summary judgment schedule on April 22, 2022. It is expected that the summary judgment will enlighten crypto enthusiasts that where this case will be leading.

It could also decide whether the lawsuit will end up in a settlement or will deliver a new regulation regarding digital assets.

Additionally, the SEC said it is satisfied with the discovery phase of the lawsuit, in that it requires no further internal information from Ripple.