The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has allowed XRP token holders to petition to participate in the Ripple case. This is stated in a letter from Judge Analisa Torres dated March 29, 2021.
By April 19, investor representatives must file the necessary documents. By May 3, the plaintiff (represented by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC) and the defendants may file their objections.
Earlier, John Deaton, founder of the Deaton Law Firm, on behalf of XRP holderscalled for the regulator to amend the lawsuit against Ripple and stop branding the coin as a security. In his words, the Commission has “intentionally and knowingly” caused investors “multibillion-dollar” losses.
In March 2021 the SEC filed with the court a motion to dismiss this claim.
In the same month, Deaton said that XRP token holders would participate in the litigation as a third party to protect their interests.
In response, the Commission noted that investors did not explain which claims and against whom they would bring in this case. Lawyers for the SEC also warned of possible delays and confusion resulting from the involvement of “all interested members of the public”.
In December 2020 the SEC charged Ripple, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen with an unregistered sale of securities worth $1.3 billion in the form of XRP.
Subsequently the agency revised the suit, focusing on Larsen and Garlinghouse’s actions. In the regulator’s view, they manipulated the asset’s price and personally pocketed $600 million from the sales.
Earlier, in March 2021, the SEC requested data from six banks on the personal financial transactions of Ripple’s executives over the past eight years.
b25a435186355d98b71d9c347e9d6362 by ForkLog on Scribd