Judge Approves Entry of Investment Banker Declarant in SEC v. Ripple Lawsuit

In the latest development in the legal battle between Ripple Labs and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Judge Analisa Torres has granted permission for an investment banker declarant to participate in the proceedings.

In a court filing, Judge Torres approved the appearance of Andrew A. Kunsak from the law firm Sidley Austin LLP as an investment banker declarant in the ongoing SEC v. Ripple Labs lawsuit.

Ripple had previously objected to a similar appearance by an investment banker declarant affiliated with a law firm supporting the SEC’s position. This raised concerns among the defendants.

“Andrew A. Kunsak of Sidley Austin LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, a member of this Court in good standing, hereby respectfully enters an appearance for Investment Banker Declarant in the above-captioned action.”

In order to protect sensitive information, which had been previously sealed by a court order, the court plans to address issues related to the rejection of the SEC’s request to seal the Hinman speech documents, as well as Ripple’s request to seal information regarding XRP sales, including programmatic and institutional sales.

The investment banker declarant’s goal is to protect their stakeholders in response to the SEC’s intention to challenge Judge Torres’ summary judgment decision.

The SEC has filed a motion seeking an interlocutory appeal of Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling that programmatic sales of XRP (XRP) do not fall under the definition of securities according to the Howey Test. The regulatory body is also requesting a suspension of ongoing proceedings until the court provides clarification.

Related: SEC delays Bitcoin ETF approval deadlines to early 2024

Meanwhile, Stuart Alderoty, the chief legal officer of Ripple, clarified that the organization is only seeking court authorization to file an appeal and does not intend to challenge the classification of XRP as a security.

In the past 24 hours, the price of XRP has decreased by 3% and is currently valued at $0.60.

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