Attorney Rispoli’s comments came after Ripple sought a stay on Judge Torres’ judgment, having agreed to transfer 111% of the penalty, or $138.75 million, to its legal team’s account.
Attorney Rispoli made the claim shortly after Ripple asked for a stay on the financial portion of Judge Analisa Torres’ final judgment on August 7.
Recall that Ripple and the SEC reached an agreement to transfer 111% of the penalty amount, which amounts to $138.75 million, to the legal team’s account.
Ripple disclosed that the funds would be retained in the account and released 30 days after the expiration of the deadline for filing an appeal notice or the conclusion of an appeal.
Odds of Appealing Increase Significantly
Attorney Rispoli responded to this development by proposing that the agreement increases the likelihood of an appeal in the case.
Rispoli speculated that the initiative signals uncertainty, although the move does not confirm that an appeal might be lodged.
He suggested that Ripple likely made the arrangement because the SEC’s lawyers have not confirmed whether they intend to appeal.
Attorney Rispoli stated that the likelihood of an appeal has increased as a result of recent developments in the litigation, despite the fact that it is not a certainty.
Both Parties have the Option to Appeal
Since the court’s final judgment was announced, crypto devotees have continued to speculate about whether the Ripple lawsuit will proceed to appeal.
Numerous individuals conjectured that both parties, particularly the SEC, would file appeals. As previously mentioned, James Murphy identified two potential grounds for an appeal by the SEC: the court’s decision regarding XRP programmatic sales and the disgorgement concerns.
The SEC’s disgorgement request was denied by the court due to the agency’s failure to demonstrate that XRP investors suffered pecuniary damage. The SEC also lost the summary judgment regarding the XRP programmatic transactions ruling.
Murphy believes that both decisions have the potential to influence other crypto-related cases that the SEC has filed. Therefore, the agency may file an appeal to reverse these decisions.
In the same vein, numerous legal professionals are of the opinion that Ripple may also appeal the verdict as a result of the injunction that has been placed on its future XRP sales to institutional clients.
Ripple further heightened the likelihood of a potential appeal by commending the monetary portion of the verdict while disregarding the injunction aspect.
No official Decision has been Made
It is important to note that neither party has submitted an appeal notice in writing. The SEC has not yet determined whether it intends to appeal, according to Attorney Jeremy Hogan.
He stated that the SEC would have submitted the appeal notice if it had reached this conclusion.
While Hogan indicated that the process of filing an appeal notice typically takes 15 minutes, he underscored that the SEC would be granted 70 days to submit the actual appeal brief.
It is important to note that Ripple is subject to the same timeline if it chooses to appeal.
The Ripple case is being closely monitored by the crypto community to determine whether it will be transferred to the Second Circuit. Currently, the parties have approximately one month to submit an appeal notice.
