Legal Experts React as Top Journalist Criticizes Judge Torres Ruling in SEC v. Ripple Case

Top legal experts have defended the SEC v. Ripple verdict after Fox Business journalist Charles Gasparino characterized the decision as idiotic.  

Fox Business Senior Correspondent Charles Gasparino continues to spark controversy with his remark about the summary judgment in the SEC v. Ripple legal tussle. 

Gasparino Criticizes Judge Torres’ Ruling 

During a recent exchange on X (formerly Twitter), Gasparino stated that Ripple did not win its case against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In a tweet yesterday, Gasparino labeled the verdict, which held that XRP is not a security, as idiotic. 

He pointed out that XRP retail investors won for now because the judge decided to “split the baby” by declaring that category programmatic sales as non-securities. Per Gasparino, the judge’s decision has made the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York a laughing stock. 

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It bears mentioning that Gasparino’s claim contradicts the belief of top legal experts who suggested that Ripple won the better part of the case. 

Aside from the court declaring XRP as a non-security, it also ruled that programmatic sales of XRP and other distributions did not violate the law as alleged by the SEC. 

Legal Experts React 

As expected, Gasparino faced heavy backlash from XRP community members over his recent assertions about the verdict. Some users took to X to defend the soundness of the ruling. 

Australia-based lawyer Bill Morgan stated that there is no lawyer who does not view the verdict as a good result for Ripple. Morgan said while the verdict was split, Ripple got the better part of the decision because the judge distinguished XRP from the scheme. 

There is no lawyer who thinks it was not a good result for Ripple. Otherwise you would cite one. The decision was split but Ripple got the better of it and won the key legal issue because the judge distinguished the token from the scheme, transaction or contract and found that… https://t.co/FMLXdrbDtv

— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) November 16, 2023

He stated that the significance of the decision prompted the SEC to dismiss its case against Ripple execs Brad Garlinghouse and Chris Larsen. 

In addition, CryptoLaw, a media outlet covering U.S. regulatory news for digital asset holders, also defended the soundness of Judge Torres’ verdict. 

Contrary to Gasparino’s claim, CryptoLaw noted that the judge did not split the baby. The media outlet added that under the Howey test, a longstanding securities test in the U.S., most XRP-related transactions, especially blind bid/ask transactions, do not satisfy the prongs of an investment contract. 

The baby was not split. The baby is not a security.

Blind bid/ask transactions on an anonymous exchange (vast majority of XRP sales in the case) are not securities under Howey. That’s 75+yrs of case law speaking.

What case law are the unnamed laughers at SDNY citing? https://t.co/t7xmtBOPrH

— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) November 16, 2023

Gasparino Attack Ripple Verdict 

Meanwhile, Gasparino’s comment will not come as a shock to many XRP enthusiasts. The Fox journalist had previously criticized the verdict, speculating that the decision would be overturned in the Second Circuit. However, CryptoLaw founder Attorney John Deaton expressed a contrary opinion. 

Notably, the court denied the SEC’s attempt to certify an interlocutory appeal in the case, ordering the regulator to wait until all pending issues are resolved. 

The remaining issue in the case is the remedies phase, which will determine the penalty Ripple may face for violating the law via its institutional sales of XRP.