The ongoing lawsuit between Ripple Labs and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) saw a plea for extensions. As per the filings, Ripple has requested a one-week extension for remedies-related discovery. However, XRP is continuing its downward trend as its price dropped by over 10% in the last 30 days.
Ripple seeks support
According to the filings, Ripple is seeking to extend the deadline from February 12, 2024, to February 20, 2024. The request for an extension comes after a dispute over the relevance of post-complaint discovery requested by the SEC.
However, this dispute was resolved in the SEC’s favor on February 5, 2024, just one week before the initial close of the discovery period. Ripple argues that the extension is necessary to respond to discovery requests that involve documents covering the entire post complaint period.
It is important to note that the court had previously granted a schedule for remedies discovery. The court allowed 90 days for limited expert discovery. The defendants reserved the right to oppose any post-complaint discovery and to seek extensions if the court permitted such discovery.
The SEC had served nine interrogatories and three requests for production (RFPs) on Ripple, leading to objections from the defendant. This particularly concerns requests related to post-complaint conduct.
After attempts to narrow the dispute through meetings and conferences, the SEC filed a motion to compel certain discoveries. This includes Ripple’s financial statements for 2022 and 2023 and information related to XRP sales contracts with institutional buyers, hedge funds, and ODL customers.
Court pushing case to critical area
On February 5, 2024, Judge Netburn ruled in favor of the SEC, granting the motion to compel in full. As a result, Ripple is now working to comply with the court’s order, intending to produce financial statements and respond to interrogatories by the existing fact discovery deadline of February 12, 2024.
Ripple contends that, due to the complexity and volume of documents involved in providing contracts for the sale of XRP to institutional buyers, hedge funds, and ODL customers, an extension until February 20, 2024, is necessary to fulfill the discovery requirements effectively.
The SEC has consented to Ripple’s request to extend the remedies-related discovery deadline. Ripple argues that the extension is justified based on good cause, diligence in meeting existing deadlines, the recent resolution of a dispute, and the complexity of the discovery requests.
The court will now consider Ripple’s request for an extension, weighing factors such as diligence, the imminence of trial, and potential prejudice to the SEC if an extension is granted.
