Attorney Bill Morgan commented on the position of Judge Sarah Netburn on the SEC-Ripple case, in view of the recent rule on public access to the Hinman Speech. Morgan’s assertions followed the open Twitter chat between the lawyer Jeremy Hogan and the XRP enthusiast Blockchain Backer, in which both of them conversed on the possible outcomes of the SEC-Ripple war, drawing conclusions from the Judge’s rejection of SEC’s motion to seal the Hinman Speech document.
In the early hours of May 14, former federal prosecutor James K. Filan shared the breaking news that “Judge Torres denies the SEC’s Motion to Seal the Hinman documents”. Following the announcement, Hogan expressed his excitement, hailing Judge Torres as “the People’s Judge”.
Amidst a wide range of discussions prevailing across the social media platform, regarding the matter, a notable response was the one from Blockchain Backer, who raised concerns on the possibility of the negative impact of Judge Sarah Netburn’s denial of SEC’s request to keep Hinman Speech, on Ripple.
Highlighting specific statements from the Judge’s report, the XRP enthusiast commented on the public opinions regarding the lesser chance of Ripple for an “outright win”. The Judge’s statement read:
Defendants’ motion to seal is DENIED as to references linking Ripple’s revenues with XRP sales, the amount of compensation that Ripple offered to trading platforms to list XRP and the amount of Ripple’s XRP sales targeted at investors through programmatic and institutional sales…and GRANTED as to the remainder of their requests.
Responding to the tweet, Hogan stated his perceptions on the matter, explaining that Judge might not have ruled on the Fair Notice Defense issue. He added that she might not have reached that part which is often done at the end. Also, he opined that the Judge’s move is an indicator of her decision against the SEC’s motion.
Lawyer Morgan came forward with his opinions subsequent to the comments of Hogan:
The SEC sought summary judgment on FND. If the Judge finds some sales of XRP are investment contracts but does not give summary judgment to the SEC on fair notice is the only option for the judge to send the FND to trial or can she rule on FND in Ripple’s favor now.
— bill morgan (@Belisarius2020) May 18, 2023
Morgan cited that “the SEC sought summary judgment” on the fund, adding that the Judge could only send the fund to trial or to rule in favor of Ripple if she finds the sales of XRP as investment contracts.
