On Thursday, Judge Analisa Torres of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York made a significant decision regarding the ongoing legal battle between Ripple, a San Francisco-based blockchain firm, and the SEC. The joint motion filed by both parties, seeking an indicative ruling on their proposed settlement, was rejected by Judge Torres.
Earlier this month, Ripple and the SEC requested an indicative ruling to gauge Judge Torres’ potential approval of the settlement if the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit were to send the case back to the district court.
As part of the proposed settlement, the SEC agreed to request Judge Torres to lift the injunction imposed in the final judgment from August. Additionally, Ripple’s penalty would be reduced to $50 million under the terms of the agreement.
Judge Torres emphasized that altering the final judgment would be procedurally inappropriate. She noted that such changes could only be made under exceptional circumstances like the discovery of new evidence or instances of fraud.
According to Judge Torres, there is no valid legal justification for overturning the final judgment issued in August 2024.