Top Lawyer Says Appeal Odds in Ripple v SEC Case Have Risen

Famous legal expert Fred Rispoli suggests that the likelihood of an appeal in the SEC Vs. Ripple lawsuit has increased. 

Attorney Rispoli made the assertion shortly after Ripple requested a stay on the monetary portion of Judge Analisa Torres’ August 7 final judgment. 

Recall that Ripple reached an agreement with the SEC to move 111% of the penalty amount, representing $138.75 million, to the account of its legal team.

Ripple disclosed that the money would be held in the account and released 30 days after the expiration of the deadline required to file an appeal notice or the conclusion of an appeal. 

Appeal Odds Soar 

Reacting to this development, Attorney Rispoli suggested that the arrangement bolsters the odds of an appeal in the case. While the move does not confirm that an appeal might be filed, Rispoli speculated that the initiative signals uncertainty.

He suggested that Ripple likely made the arrangement because the SEC’s lawyers have not confirmed whether they plan to appeal. 

Although an appeal is not certain, Attorney Rispoli said the chances of one happening have soared based on recent developments in the lawsuit. 

Both Parties Could Appeal 

Crypto enthusiasts have continued to discuss whether the Ripple lawsuit will move to appeal since the court released the final judgment. 

Many speculated that both parties, especially the SEC, would appeal. As reported earlier, James Murphy cited two reasons the SEC might appeal, such as the disgorgement concerns and the court’s decision relating to XRP programmatic sales. 

Recall that the court denied the SEC’s disgorgement request, as the agency failed to prove XRP investors suffered pecuniary harm. The SEC also lost the summary judgment relating to XRP programmatic sales ruling.

According to Murphy, both decisions could impact other crypto-related cases filed by the SEC. Hence, the agency might appeal to overturn these rulings. 

Similarly, several legal experts believe Ripple might also appeal the verdict due to the injunction imposed on its future XRP sales to institutional clients. Ripple further increased the odds of a potential appeal when it commended the monetary portion of the verdict but ignored the injunction aspect. 

No Official Decision Yet 

Notably, none of the parties has officially filed an appeal notice. According to Attorney Jeremy Hogan, the SEC has not decided whether it wants to appeal. He said the SEC would have filed the appeal notice if it had reached this decision. 

While Hogan suggested that filing an appeal notice takes about 15 minutes, he emphasized that the SEC would be given 70 days to submit the actual appeal brief. It bears mentioning that the same timeline applies to Ripple should it decide to appeal. 

The crypto community is monitoring whether the Ripple case will go to the Second Circuit. At the moment, the parties now have about a month to file an appeal notice.