SEC v. Ripple: Court updates agenda for XRP lawsuit
Fact discovery has been extended to accommodate the depositions of Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. Expert discovery has been extended by 13 days with its deadline now being scheduled for November 12.
As expected, the Court granted the request for a deadline extension for fact discovery, which also moves the scheduled expert discovery.
The parties may conduct the depositions of defendants Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen after the close of the August 31 fact discovery deadline, the Judge ruled. The deadline for expert discovery has been extended to November 12.
The deadline for the parties to exchange their respective statements of material facts pursuant to Local Civil Rule 56.1 and their pre-motion letters regarding motions for summary judgment is “adjourned sine die” pending resolution of the motions to dismiss and strike.
“Adjourned sine die means that a specific date has not yet been set for the filing of the pre-motion letters or Statements of Material Facts because those dates will depend on when the Court rules on the pending Motion to Strike and Motions to Dismiss. Those motions must be decided before the other documents can be filed and we don’t know when those motions will be decided”, attorney James K. Filan explained.
No due date has been set pending the resolution of the individual defendants’ motions to strike and dismiss the case against them.
Prior to this ruling, the fact discovery deadline was August 31 and the expert discovery deadline was October 31 (see outdated agenda) The change in dates has effectively added 13 more days to what is currently scheduled.
This is not the first time the Judge moves the dates. A few months ago, the SEC was granted its request to extend fact discovery by 60 days despite Ripple’s opposition.
The fundamentals remain the same. Any settlement is likely only after at least the close of fact discovery and even more likely after the expert discovery deadline, November 12.
Still, many experts close to the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit don’t see it ending that soon. Attorney Filan said recently “This is a war. I think we should settle in for the long haul.”
In a recent motion filed by the SEC, the plaintiff’s counsel stated that “there is no realistic prospect that the parties will fully resolve this case for several months, if not longer”.
In the meantime, the SEC appointed Barbara Roper, CFA’s Director of Investor Protection, as Senior Advisor to Chair Gary Gensler. The agency has been under fire for failing to protect investors as it pursues its “regulation-by-enforcement” tactic in the digital asset space.
A practice that has been criticized by many within the space, from XRP holders to SEC Commissioners and even Mark Cuban.
SEC v. Ripple: Find here the daily updates to the XRP lawsuit
