Ripple Labs has opposed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) request for an interlocutory appeal against Judge Analisa Torres’ decision on the sale of XRP constituting securities.
According to a tweet by Ripple Labs chief legal officer Stuart Alderoty, the court should reject the SEC’s request because there is no extraordinary circumstance justifying a departure from the rule that requires all issues to be resolved before an appeal.
In mid-July, Judge Torres passed a landmark decision in the legal case between the SEC and Ripple. She ruled that the sale of XRP to retail investors on exchanges did not qualify as securities because they followed a blind bid process. In contrast, the opposite is the case when the same assets are sold to institutional investors.
The judge’s ruling dealt a massive blow to the SEC because its lawsuit against Ripple was based on accusations that the company conducted an unregistered sale of securities even in secondary markets.
Subsequently, the SEC signaled its intent to appeal the ruling and, on August 9, filed an interlocutory brief to that effect. The agency cited recent incident where a presiding judge in its case against Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, dismissed the XRP ruling.
An interlocutory appeal occurs when a decision by a trial court is challenged while other aspects of the case are still proceeding. Such requests are usually allowed under rare or specific circumstances.
In Ripple’s opposition, the company insisted that the SEC be allowed to appeal Judge Torres’ decision in the normal course after a final judgment is passed.
Ripple’s opposition to the SEC’s motion was based on three reasons, with the first being that the judge’s ruling was not a “pure question of law.” The company also argued that the Commission’s disagreement with the decision did not show a substantial ground for a difference of opinion.
Lastly, an immediate appeal of the ruling would not lead to the termination of the legal case, according to Ripple.
Commenting on Ripple’s opposition, the company’s CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, said that even if the appeal is granted, it will not change the fact that XRP is not a security.
The Ripple chief added that the SEC’s claims that he and his partner Chris Larsen acted recklessly in believing the crypto asset is not a security is “utter nonsense,” stating that they look forward to proving the agency wrong again.