Ripple Labs opposes SEC’s ‘baseless’ interlocutory appeal

Ripple Labs sought to have the motion for an interlocutory appeal dismissed by the SEC, as it sees no legal grounds to challenge the ruling.

In Ripple’s lawyers’ view, an appeal would only delay the proceedings and would not help deliver a final judgment. They also noted that the regulator’s claim of an alleged misinterpretation Howey test regarding the distribution of XRP does not indicate any divergence from the underlying legal standard.

“There are no extraordinary circumstances that would justify departing from the rule of resolving all issues between the parties before filing an appeal,” said Ripple’s chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty.

The defense maintains that the ruling can be appealed only after a final judgment. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for spring 2024.

The SEC has not commented on the situation yet.

The case has been in litigation since 2020. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the company with unregistered sales of XRP securities totaling $1.3 billion. The defendants in the suit also include CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen.

In July 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that Ripple’s programmatic sales and other distributions of the XRP token did not constitute offers and sales of investment contracts.

After that the SEC filed an appeal.