Ripple, the prominent blockchain payments company, is pushing back against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the XRP and SEC ongoing legal battle. In a recent development, Ripple has objected to the SEC’s latest request for post-complaint discovery. The dispute centers around the SEC’s motion to compel Ripple to produce additional documents and answer new interrogatories, a move Ripple deems untimely and irrelevant to the case.
Ripple Challenges SEC’s Discovery Requests
The legal skirmish took a new turn as XRP filed a response opposing the SEC’s motion. The regulatory body seeks to compel Ripple to provide audited financial statements for 2022 and 2023 and disclose details of all post-complaint XRP transactions with non-employee parties. Additionally, the SEC demands answers regarding the amount of revenue Ripple generated from XRP institutional sales after the complaint was filed.
Ripple’s counter is firm, asserting that these requests are not only untimely but also irrelevant to the case at hand. The company emphasizes that the SEC had ample opportunity to request this information during the open fact discovery phase but chose not to. Now, XRP argues, the SEC lacks valid grounds to demand such data.
Stakes of Post-Complaint Discovery
The essence of Ripple’s opposition lies in the timing and relevance of the SEC’s demands. Ripple highlights that the SEC’s late requests come after the closure of fact discovery, except for a narrow scope granted by the Court. The company also points out that the SEC’s requests exceed the 25 interrogatory limit under Rule 33 and that the post-complaint conduct is not germane to the case.
XRP’s stance is that addressing the legality of its post-complaint XRP sales could lead to unnecessary and lengthy side litigation. This perspective aligns with the broader sentiment in the XRP community, which has been closely following the lawsuit and is eagerly anticipating a resolution in 2024.
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