Top Lawyer Says It Will “Bode Bad” for Ripple If This Happens in SEC Lawsuit

Attorney Hogan thinks it will “bode bad” for Ripple if Judge Torres moves the fair notice defense issue to trial.

Attorney Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan, asserts that it will “bode bad” for Ripple if Judge Analisa Torres moves the Fair Notice Defense (FND) issue to trial.

According to Hogan, the parties would only have a trial on FND if Ripple loses its case to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) based on the Section 5 violation.

Hogan Thinks Judge Torres Hasn’t Ruled on FND

The pro-XRP lawyer who has closely followed the ongoing SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit added that Judge Torres’ discussion about the drafts of Hinman’s speech suggests that she has not ruled on the FND issue.

On Tuesday, Judge Torres issued her decision on the parties’ requests to seal documents related to the summary judgment motions. The biggest part of the ruling for XRP community members was the denial of SEC’s request to seal the drafts of William Hinman’s 2018 controversial speech.

While denying the SEC’s request, Judge Torres stated that “whether the court relies on [Hinman’s] documents in ruling on the summary judgment motions, they are judicial documents subject to the presumption of public access.”

Hogan noted that the first part of Judge Torres’ quoted remarks suggest that she has yet to get to the fair notice defense issue or that she only denied the SEC’s motion to seal.

Top Influencer Highlights a “Net Negative” Ruling for Ripple

It is worth noting that Hogan made the analysis in response to an inquiry raised by prominent XRP influencer Blockchain Backer. In a tweet yesterday, the famous XRP influencer called attorney Hogan’s attention to a portion of Judge Torres’ ruling that may likely reduce Ripple’s chances of getting an outright win against the SEC.

Blockchain Backer attached a part of the ruling to the tweet, showing the denial of Ripple’s motion to seal its revenues with XRP sales, the compensation paid to crypto trading platforms to list XRP, etc.

Based on his conversation with other XRP fans, the influencer noted that the ruling is a “net negative for Ripple.”

Responding to Blockchain Backer’s inquiry, Hogan said he does not believe the judge’s recent order will determine the summary judgment.

According to Hogan, the order only covered what the court wants followers of the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit to see. For the pro-XRP lawyer, the order on the sealing request cannot determine the outcome of the case.

Hi BCB! I don’t take anything from the Order as to how the Judge will rule (with one caveat).

The Order was only about what we are allowed to see. All of the “evidence” was already determined relevant. So you can’t really read anything into the fact she says it’s relevant here. https://t.co/DRHKnycVd3

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) May 17, 2023

As reported yesterday, Hogan said the language used in the recent order suggests that “a large portion of the order on summary judgment has been drafted.”

He noted that the language used in the ruling could suggest that Ripple has either won or lost the lawsuit. In addition, the judge’s recent order could also mean that Ripple lost and still won the case. Lastly, he asserts that the remark might imply a lose-lose situation for Ripple but a win for XRP investors.