XRP Lawsuit Trial Date Locked In April 2024; Any Further Change?

The United States District Court for Southern District of New York has set forth a date in the second quarter of 2024 for beginning the trial in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple. The XRP lawsuit was subject to another major development with the Court’s denial of the SEC’s motion to file an interlocutory appeal.

Also Read: FTX Bankruptcy: Jump Trading Loses Over $200 Million, Reveals New Book

Denial On Multiple Grounds

On Tuesday, October 3, 2024, Judge Analisa Torres rejected the SEC’s motion to file an interlocutory appeal in the XRP lawsuit, in which Ripple Labs, chief executive officer Brad Garlinghouse and executive chairman Chris Larsen were included as plaintiffs. The SEC’s motion for certification of interlocutory appeal has been denied on grounds that the agency failed to argue how the Court ruling improperly applied the Howey test, how the interlocutory appeal would result in a reversal of the judgment, and on various conditions that support XRP token sale in terms of investment contract.

XRP Trial Date Fixed

While rejecting the US SEC motion for filing an appeal, Judge Torres stated that the trial in the XRP lawsuit is set to begin on April 23, 2024. However, the trial date could be subject to the two parties’ compliance to document submission deadline of December 4, 2023, as was stated in the Court’s Pretrial Scheduling Order. A part of the Court order mandated about the submission of filings:

“By December 4, 2023, the parties shall submit any motions in limine. Oppositions to any motions in limine shall be submitted by December 18, 2023.”

Hence, any lapse in submitting the filings could lead to further delay in the XRP lawsuit trial. Earlier, in May 2023, Ripple and the US SEC had filed a joint letter for extension to file documents citing the “voluminous nature” of the materials. However, the trial could go away altogether if the US SEC drops the case in the weeks ahead. Attorney Jeremy Hogan confirmed the same, describing the denial of the SEC’s motion as a “Disaster for the agency.”

Meanwhile, the XRP price jumped by an impressive 4% in response to the court order. Following the landmark Summary Judgment by judge Torres on July 13, 2023, the XRP price jumped by as much as 72%. It remains to be seen how the US SEC likes to respond to the denial to file appeal, which would be crucial to further price movements.

Also Read: Ripple Makes Top 100 Fintech List for Cross Border Payments