Attorney Analyzes Judge Torres’ View on Ripple Past & Current XRP Sales

Pro-XRP Lawyer Says Judge Torres Now Has Sufficient Knowledge About Ripple’s Past, Current Business.

Several legal experts have been analyzing Judge Analisa Torres’ order on the parties’ requests to seal documents related to summary judgment in the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit.

Over the past day, pro-XRP lawyers like attorney John Deaton, Jeremy Hogan, James K. Filan, etc., have all commented on the issue.

Attorney Morgan’s Comments on Judge Torres’ Recent Order

In a Twitter thread today, attorney Bill Morgan, an Australian-based pro-XRP lawyer, gave his opinion about the judge’s recent order on the parties’ sealing requests.

Attorney Morgan noted that the order on the parties’ sealing requests suggests that Judge Torres has gotten significant information regarding Ripple’s past and current business.

According to Morgan, the judge seems aware of the fact that Ripple’s past business involved institutional and programmatic sales of XRP. In contrast, its current business involves XRP sales to On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) clients.

He pointed to a portion of the ruling where the judge ordered the redaction of summary judgment materials related to Ripple’s XRP sales to ODL clients because “the product” is one of the company’s main lines of business.

Notably, the judge had a different opinion when Ripple could not prove that public access to its past institutional and programmatic XRP sales would be detrimental to its current and future business.

Commenting on the development, Morgan said it is interesting that Judge Torres sees ODL as a product. It implies that XRP sales to ODL customers are part of a product and not a common enterprise, he added.

SEC & Judge Torres Aren’t Worried About Ripple’s XRP Sales to ODL Customers

Furthermore, the Australian-based lawyer shared evidence where the SEC refused to oppose Ripple’s request to seal its financial statements from 2020 till date.

Per Morgan, the SEC did not oppose Ripple’s request because the regulator knew the blockchain company had “ceased institutional and programmatic sales of XRP.” The prominent lawyer asserted that both the judge and SEC are not worried about Ripple’s XRP sales to ODL clients. 

“After all, given the nature of the use of XRP in ODL, it really doesn’t seem to satisfy any part of the Howey test,” said Morgan. 

Morgan Says XRP Isn’t a Security

He added that XRP is not a security if Judge Torres and the SEC do not see the coin’s sales about ODL’s “product” as an investment contract. However, he believes Ripple’s past programmatic and institutional sale of XRP might be a different issue entirely for the Silicon Valley-based company. 

Meanwhile, Attorney Morgan had previously commented on Judge Torres’ ruling on the parties’ sealing request. Reacting to reports of Judge Torres denying SEC’s motion to seal Hinman’s documents, the Australian-based lawyer said the decision bodes well for Ripple.

Overall I think the decision bodes well for Ripple on the summary judgment motions. https://t.co/C53VivQeum

— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) May 16, 2023