The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple Labs is not the only battle the company is currently fighting. In fact, there is a court case that has been under trial for a longer period of time: The class action lawsuit filed by XRP investors against Ripple Labs and CEO Brad Garlinghouse, which has been pending since November 2018.
The case, which is being heard in the US state of California, is led by lead plaintiff Bradley Sostack, with three lawsuits (Zakinov, Oconer, and Greenwald) consolidated into one. The plaintiffs accuse Ripple of selling XRP as an unregistered security and seek damages for losses suffered from the sale and alleged promises by Ripple. In addition, the plaintiffs are asking the court to also classify XRP as a security.
A New Player In The Ripple Vs. Zakinov Case
Attorney John E. Deaton, who is already involved with a respective amicus brief in the Ripple vs. SEC and LBRY vs. SEC cases, is now getting involved in this case as well. As prominent criminal defense attorney James Filan writes in a series of tweets, Deaton is filing an amicus brief in Zakinov vs. Ripple.
Filan writes that the proposed class would include XRP holders around the world, including the 75,890 holders in the SEC case who have joined Ripple’s arguments and disagree with the plaintiffs in Zakinov, saying that XRP is not a security.
Moreover, the proposed class action is not limited to direct sales by Ripple, but extends to all sales of XRP, including secondary sales and international sales in countries where the token has already been classified as not a security.
Deaton argues in his motion that the court should not certify the class because of these conflicts and because there are only a small number of holders who claim that XRP is an unregistered security, while vastly more token holders worldwide claim that it is not.
JUST ADDED to our Document Library:
Order Granting @JohnEDeaton1 Admission Pro Hac Vice Representing #XRPHolders in US District Court for Northern District of CA in “In Re Ripple Labs Inc Litigation” (Zakinov v. @Ripple)
Link to Order: https://t.co/tc3zd4ZyYm— CryptoLaw (@CryptoLawUS) February 6, 2023
Fred Rispoli, also an attorney from the community, commented on Deaton’s move with applause, saying, “Being familiar with class actions, the class certification battle is the most important fight in these types of cases. John coming in here in this capacity is a real kick in the balls to plaintiff’s counsel. And I don’t disagree with John, but the ball kick cannot be overstated.”
For his part, Deaton commented on Filan’s announcement on Twitter, saying:
Whether it’s the SEC or a Plaintiff’s Attorney making the absurd argument that secondary market transactions of a token are also securities simply b/c it may have been previously offered or sold in a way that violated Section 5 of the Securities Act, I’ll see you in Court.
XRP Price Today
At press time, the XRP price stood at $0.3961, finding support at the 100-day EMA. Over the last 24 hours, the price writes a slight loss of 0.4%. For bulls, the 200-day EMA remains one of the biggest resistances at the moment.
Featured image from iStock, Chart from TradingView.com
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