Ripple has taken action in its ongoing case against the SEC, accusing the regulatory agency of withholding crucial information during the discovery phase. The company has filed a motion requesting that Magistrate Sarah Netburn exclude the new expert materials submitted by the plaintiff in support of its opening remedies brief and final judgment entry.
During the discovery phase, the SEC failed to provide a declaration from one of its expert witnesses, Andrea Fox, who is an assistant chief accountant of the agency’s enforcement division. This declaration includes an accounting analysis related to the remedies aspect of the lawsuit, which the court had mandated the SEC to disclose during discovery. However, the SEC only submitted the expert report in its opening remedies-related brief, which limited Ripple’s ability to respond within the discovery period.
Ripple argues that the SEC’s classification of Fox as a summary witness instead of an expert witness was a deliberate tactic to avoid disclosing her identity and opinions earlier. According to Ripple, Fox qualifies as an expert witness due to her in-depth accounting analysis that goes beyond summarizing evidence.
In response to Ripple’s motion, the SEC opposed the exclusion of Fox’s report and proposed a new schedule for filing opposing documents. The court is expected to grant the SEC five business days to file its opposition, followed by three business days for Ripple to reply.
Ripple’s latest filing precedes its opposition to the SEC’s opening remedies brief, where the company argues against imposing a civil penalty of more than $10 million, in contrast to the SEC’s request of $876.3 million. Ripple also claims that the SEC has failed to provide sufficient justification for imposing a sanction and disgorgement.
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