The US 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 tried for a longer 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 was heard in the US state of California, was led by the main plaintiff Bradley Sostack, with three lawsuits (Zakinov, Oconer, and Greenwald) combined into one. The plaintiffs accused Ripple of selling XRP as an unregistered security and sought compensation for the losses they suffered from the sale and the promise of Ripple. In addition, the plaintiffs asked the court to also classify XRP as a security.
New Players In Ripple Vs. The case of Zakinov
Attorney John E. Deaton, who has participated in the respective amicus briefs in the Ripple vs. SEC and LBRY vs. SEC cases, now also participates in this case. As a famous criminal defense lawyer James Filan writes in a series of tweetsDeaton filed an amicus brief in Zakinov vs.
Filan wrote that the proposed class would include XRP holders around the world, including 75,890 who have SEC cases that have joined Ripple’s arguments and disagree with the plaintiffs in Zakinov, saying that XRP is not a security.
In addition, 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 been classified as not a security.
Deaton argued in his motion that the court should not certify the class because of the conflict and because only a small number of holders claim that XRP is an unregistered security, while more token holders around the world claim that it is not.
IMMEDIATELY ADDED to our Document Library:
✅ Ordering @JohnEDeaton1 Admitted Pro Hac Vice Vice #XRPHolders in the US District Court for the Northern District of CA in “In Re Ripple Labs Inc Litigation” (Zakinov v. @Ripuh) 👇
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 fight is the most important fight in the case. John coming here in this capacity is a real kick in the balls for his counsel the plaintiff’s. And I don’t agree with John, but the kick of the ball is not to be underestimated.
For his part, Deaton commented on Filan’s announcement on Twitter, said:
Whether the SEC or the Plaintiff’s Attorney makes an absurd argument that the secondary market transaction of tokens as well as securities only b/c, may have been offered or sold before in a manner that violates Section 5 of the Securities Act, I will see you in Court.
XRP price today
At press time, XRP price stood at $0.3961, finding support at the 100-day EMA. Over the last 24 hours, the price posted a slight loss of 0.4%. For bulls, the 200-day EMA remains one of the biggest resistances today.
Option images from iStock, Charts from TradingView.com