Ripple (XRP) celebrates another small win in lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Again the judge has a motion from the SEC rejected, this time the motion to see communications between Ripple and its legal advisers.
Ripple has reportedly been in contact with as many as 12 of the legal firms. This is important in the lawsuit, according to the SEC, because Ripple would have been told that XRP can be both a currency and a security. As a result, Ripple would have already been aware that XRP could have been an effect. But the question is whether this even matters:
Ripple claims the SEC’s requested communications are protected by attorney-client privilege, which has not yet been lifted. The SEC responds that Ripple has compromised its attorney advice by defending a fair notice and that the SEC has the right to “test and refute this defense.”
Judge Sarah Netburn adds:
“The crucial question in deciding whether to implicitly waive attorney-client privilege is whether it raises questions about the defendant’s state of mind or their reliance on the counsel’s advice.”
There is currently no question of that and so the motion of the SEC is rejected. If Ripple later invokes the communication it had with its advisors, the SEC may resubmit the application, the judge said.
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