The latest update in the XRP lawsuit saw the SEC file a letter requesting the Court to extend the expert rebuttal report deadline to November 12, 2021, and the expert discovery deadline to January 14, 2022, from the former date of November 12, 2021. The plaintiff noted that the extension will allocate both parties sufficient time to prepare rebuttal reports and depose a minimum of 14 expert witnesses.

Ripple Opposes SEC extension appeal to save XRP from an isolated bear run

While consenting to the extension of the rebuttal report deadline until November 12, Ripple opposes the January 14 deposition deadline to avoid the case from stretching long enough for XRP to entirely miss the bull run. Furthermore, Ripple also intends to file an opposition to this letter motion on October 18, 2021.

The SEC offered a compromise to Ripple, preponing the expert discovery extension to December 22, but the defense has rejected that offer as well. Ripple argues that the extension would “would likely impact the briefing schedule for summary judgment motion[s].”, as post-December 10, 2021, the Thanksgiving holidays will commence the holiday season.

SEC supports extension appeal with pending motions

The SEC objects that the case is even less ready for summary judgment motions as expert discovery has commenced with an incomplete factual record. The commission noted that on September 1, 2021, Magistrate Judge Netburn granted the SEC’s motion to compel Ripple to produce certain instant messages among its employees, but Ripple has not completed its production of responsive documents and has not provided any timetable by which it will be complete. Along with the incomplete discovery of a granted motion, the plaintiff states that the parties have a total of four pending discovery motions before Magistrate Judge Netburn. The plaintiff claims that even if one motion is granted, the parties will require an additional extension to proceed with the discovery.

“If Magistrate Judge Netburn grants any of the pending motions to compel, at minimum, the parties would need additional time to review and produce the documents at issue…The SEC’s proposed extension is fair and reasonable under the circumstances and should be granted for good cause.”, stated the SEC.

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Palak Malhotra

Journalism & Mass Comm. ‘21 graduate, Palak is a GenZ journalist with background in Lifestyle journalism & PR. At CoinGape, Palak is a junior crypto journalist preparing for Web 3.0