Bradley Sostack, the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit by investors against Ripple, has now moved to demand all of Ripple’s email communications with the SEC concerning XRP. The motion filed by the lead plaintiff’s counsel, if granted, will compel Ripple to produce “improperly withheld email communications and document retention policies.”
The lawsuit, which was filed back in the summer of 2018, alleges that Ripple and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse violated U.S Securities laws by selling XRP to the general public while promising that the token’s value would increase.
Interestingly, the SEC’s December 2020 lawsuit against Ripple also alleges something similar, with each of these lawsuits drawing much attention to the question of whether XRP can be classified as a security.
In the Sostack case, the plaintiffs are now arguing that Ripple’s communications with the SEC during the agency’s investigations are plainly relevant to the claims and defenses presented by their own lawsuit.
Reportedly, Ripple conceded to this to an extent, going on to provide formal letters shared between themselves and the SEC. However, Ripple has refused to share its email correspondence with the SEC, including documents that Ripple claims refer to “settlement discussions with the SEC.”
Further, the Sostack plaintiffs also argued that Ripple has withheld and redacted “thousands” of documents on the basis of privilege or other unstated reasons.
A United States District Court in Nothern California is scheduled to hear this motion on 25 March.
In the past, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse has often been quick to refute the notion that XRP can be considered a security.
“I think it’s very clear that XRP is not a security. It exists independently of Ripple, the company. If Ripple shut down tomorrow, the XRP ecosystem would continue to exist.”
Meanwhile, XRP’s price has consolidated on the charts since the announcement of the lawsuit, recovering to the level of $0.50, at the time of writing.
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