Analysis of Ripple-SEC Joint Motion: A Crucial Development
Prominent lawyer Bill Morgan has expressed his views on the latest joint motion filed by Ripple and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), deeming it as “very important.”
“If the motion is not allowed and the settlement agreement is not varied or a new settlement agreement entered, then there is no settlement and the appeal and cross-appeal would continue,” Morgan wrote in a detailed social media post.
On Thursday, Ripple and the SEC presented their joint motion to Judge Analisa Torres of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
As previously reported, Judge Torres had rejected an earlier joint motion seeking an indicative ruling, which came as a setback for Ripple.
The rejected motion had asked the judge to indicate whether she would approve the settlement agreement in the event of a remand by the Second Court of Appeals.
It is important to highlight that the SEC has agreed to significantly reduce Ripple’s fine to $50 million from the original $125 million, and has requested the court to lift the injunction preventing Ripple from selling XRP to US-based institutional buyers.
Judge Torres dismissed the motion for being “procedurally improper” and pointed out that the parties had not provided sufficient justification for modifying the final judgement.
In their latest joint motion, the parties have cited “exceptional circumstances,” including the SEC’s shift in crypto policy.
If this motion faces rejection by the court as well, Morgan believes it could lead to the possibility of a new settlement agreement being negotiated.