Ripple Submits Fresh Motion Urging Court to Disregard SEC Expert Witness Report

Ripple has lodged a fresh motion in its legal battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), calling on Magistrate Sarah Netburn to reject the new expert evidence submitted by the plaintiff in support of its opening remedies brief and final judgment entry. According to Ripple, the SEC failed to provide the identity and opinions of its expert during the discovery phase of the litigation. The company highlighted that the SEC did not present a declaration from its expert witness, Andrea Fox, an assistant chief accountant of the agency’s enforcement division, during the discovery phase. Fox’s declaration includes an accounting analysis on the remedies aspect of the lawsuit, which was supposed to be disclosed during discovery as per the court’s order. However, the SEC only submitted the expert report with its opening remedies brief, potentially limiting Ripple’s ability to respond within the discovery period. Ripple argued that the SEC deliberately referred to Fox as a summary witness instead of an expert witness to avoid disclosing her identity and opinions before the close of discovery. The SEC opposed Ripple’s request to exclude Fox’s report, and both parties proposed a new schedule for filing their arguments. Ripple’s opposition to the SEC’s opening remedies brief is also pending, in which the company proposed a civil penalty of no more than $10 million, contrasting with the SEC’s request of $876.3 million. The company also argued that the SEC failed to demonstrate why sanctions and disgorgement should be imposed.