In the famous speech, William Hinman, former SEC Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, said that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are not securities. The SEC is looking to shield documents and emails relating to internal discussions and Hinman’s famous speech.
Judge Grants SEC’s Motion to File a Reply Brief on Hinman Documents
On Wednesday, the SEC won another small victory in its case against Ripple Lab.
Defense lawyer James Filan shared news of the latest court ruling on Twitter.
Filan tweeted,
“In a Text Only Order, Magistrate Judge Netburn has granted the SEC’s request to file a reply brief in connection with attorney-client privilege claims regarding the Hinman speech documents. The SEC is due to reply on May 18, 2022.”
#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP In a Text Only Order, Magistrate Judge Netburn has granted the SEC’s request to file a reply brief in connection with the SEC’s attorney-client privilege claims regarding the Hinman speech documents. The SEC’s reply is due by May 18, 2022.
— James K. Filan 🇺🇸🇮🇪96k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) May 4, 2022
While this may be a blow for the Ripple Lab defense team, a resolution should allow the case to progress more swiftly, though countermotions are likely from either side, depending upon the next court ruling.
The court ruling in favor of the SEC came despite strong opposition from Ripple Lab lawyer Solomon.
On Tuesday, Ripple Lawyer Matthew Solomon opposed at least the sixth SEC motion, “filing in opposition to Defendants’ August 10, 2021 motion to compel.”
In opposition, Solomon had stated,
“Since the Defendants filed this motion to compel nearly nine months ago, the Court has twice overruled the SEC’s improper deliberative process privilege objections. Notwithstanding that, and close of fact and expert discovery, the SEC continues to withhold all documents related to a former SEC official’s June 14, 2018 speech.”
XRP showed little reaction to this week’s motions and rulings.
