Breaking: New Attorney Appears For Ripple CEO In XRP Lawsuit

In yet another development that could mean the beginning of a new chapter in the XRP lawsuit, a new attorney appeared before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of Ripple. The move comes following the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) motion for leave to file an interlocutory appeal in the ongoing case.

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Attorney Caleb J. Robertson Appears For Garlinghouse

In a filing dated August 22, 2023, Attorney Caleb J. Robertson of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP appeared on behalf of the Ripple CEO in the lawsuit against the US SEC. In the filing, the attorney requested the court to provide all papers and communications in the lawsuit. In addition to attorney Roberston, another attorney, Michael A. Schulman has filed a motion to appear Pro Hac Vice on behalf of Garlinghouse in the SEC case.

Besides the Ripple litigation, attorney Robertson has experience working in enforcement space for a cryptocurrency platform “In connection with multiple government investigations.” He also represents financial institutions, securities trading firms, investment managers, and public companies in regulatory issues.

Ripple CEO’s Role In XRP Lawsuit

In its December 22, 2020 complaint against the company, the US SEC named Garlinghouse along with Christian Larsen, the company’s co-founder for raising capital through the sale of XRP in the form of “unregistered securities.” The complaint alleged that Ripple raised funds, beginning in 2013, through the sale of digital assets known as XRP in an unregistered securities offering to investors in the United States and worldwide.

However, this allegation was recently denied in the historic Summary Judgment by Judge Analisa Torres, who stated the programmatic sale of the token to retail buyers does not constitute securities sale. This was perceived as a massive win for the crypto market participants as it could come across as a precedent in other crypto lawsuits.

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