Judge Torres rejects the SEC's motion for an interlocutory appeal in Ripple case

District Judge Analisa Torres rejected the Securities and Exchange Commission’s move to certify for interlocutory appeal in its battle with crypto firm Ripple, noting the agency did not demonstrate that the appeal would “materially advance the ultimate termination of the litigation.”

“For the reasons stated above, the SEC’s motion for certification of interlocutory appeal is DENIED, and the SEC’s request for a stay is DENIED as moot,” Torres said in an order on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. 

A trial is then set for April 23, 2024. Ripple and the SEC are expected to submit pretrial filings by the end of the year, Torres said. 

“Prior to the final pretrial conference, counsel for both parties, along with the parties themselves, shall meet in person for at least one hour to discuss settlement of this matter,” Torres said.

In August, the SEC filed a motion in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, asking it to certify for interlocutory appeal. At the time, SEC lawyers argued that the way in which the court handles the Ripple case could have a "substantial impact" on other pending litigation like those between the regulatory agency and top crypto trading platforms Binance and Coinbase.

The SEC wanted to appeal the part of the decision about the programmatic sales as well as “other distributions” that included offers and sales of XRP in exchange for goods and services.

Long road

Torres ruled in July that some of Ripple’s sales of XRP did not violate securities laws. She also ruled that other direct sales of the token to institutional investors were securities, leaving a partial win for the SEC.

The SEC first brought a lawsuit against Ripple and its executives in 2020. The agency accused the firm of raising $1.3 billion in 2020 through the sale of XRP and has also sued CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Christian Larsen.