SEC v. Ripple: 15-page “monster brief” to include Hinman Deposition
The 15-page brief will be open to the public, but Mr. Hinman’s testimony transcript is likely to have censored parts.
The Judge has ruled in favor of Ripple and the SEC’s request to expose their views about the ongoing discovery dispute in 8-page letters, which is seen as a heavy-weight brief among law experts.
The ruling comes as both parties have not produced relevant documents requested by the opposing side. In June, Ripple even filed a motion to compel the SEC to turn over said documentation, regarding BTC, ETH, and XRP.
In its turn, the agency has recently filed a motion to compel Ripple to deliver terabytes of Slack messages. “This information is critically relevant to the SEC’s core contention in this case that XRP offers and sales are offers and sales of securities”.
In addition to the 8-page letters, Judge Sarah Netburn has also strongly encouraged the Defendants to jointly file a single 15-page letter, which is being called a “monster brief”.
As part of that joint letter, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse – who is also a defendant in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit – has requested to file under seal a number of exhibits which include the deposition of ex-SEC Director William Hinman, whose transcript can’t be accessed at the moment.
The 15-page brief will be open to the public, but Mr. Hinman’s testimony transcript will have censored parts: “Exhibit I is an excerpt of the transcript of the confidential deposition of William Hinman, the former Director of the Division of Corporation Finance at the SEC, a transcript the SEC has designated as Confidential pursuant to the Stipulation and Protective Order”, said the Garlinghouse’s letter to the Judge.
The plaintiff is soon to explain why these parts should remain confidential. “Pursuant to Paragraph 15 of the Protective Order, the SEC as the party that designated these materials as Confidential in the first instance and the opposing party in this litigation, should file within three days a letter explaining the need to seal or redact the materials, if any.”
Ripple’s Garlinghouse likens SEC to a alcoholic in denial after Gary Gensler speech
In the meantime, Defendants Ripple Labs, Brad Garlinghouse, and Chris Larsen have requested “a conference to address the SEC’s improper assertions of privilege, principally deliberative process privilege (DPP), over relevant documents that it has been twice ordered to produce and that are vital to the defense in this case.”
This is another attempt from Ripple and the individual defendants to force the SEC to hand over the documents regarding their views on Bitcoin, Ether, and XRP. The agency insists on withholding all internal documents “based on blanket assertions of DPP, attorney-client privilege, and work product.”
