Attorney Jeremy Hogan added that the parties can stipulate a shorter time frame and the judge would agree with that. “But do you think the SEC would agree to shorter time frames? Me neither!”
In a move that added frustration within the digital asset space, namely among XRP investors and legal advisers for cryptocurrency firms and foundations, the expert discovery in the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit has been extended for one more month.
The change in schedule led XRP community leading figure, attorney Jeremy Hogan, to sum it all up and conclude the case is likely to meet its judicial end in August – September 2022.
Throughout the entire SEC v. Ripple lawsuit, Mr. Hogan has been asked multiple times when would the lawsuit end. The concern over the time frame is understandable given that XRP holders have their hard earn cash on the line.
In his first prediction, the lawsuit would end about now: “I don’t see the case being decided at summary judgment until early 2022 – maybe January”, Hogan said in June 2021.
Later that year, he updated his predictions amid two extensions in fact discovery – one requested by the SEC alone and the other filed in a joint motion.
Until now, Jeremy Hogan defended the idea that April could dictate the outcome of the lawsuit and free XRP holders from their frozen assets in US-based trading platforms.
Judge Sarah Netburn, however, has granted a new joint motion to extend expert discovery by a month due to the rapid spread of the COVID-19 variant, Omicron, and other personal matters.
Since Ripple agreed to the extension, the likelihood of the judge rejecting the motion was null. Expert discovery is now scheduled to end on 28 February 2022.
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In a video published yesterday, attorney Jeremy Hogan admitted that his earlier prediction of an ending in April – May was “very very very optimistic”.
Given the discovery cut off and a five month briefing schedule, “we are at the end of July before the judge even gets the case to make a decision”, he explained.
“The decision will take some time and that puts us out to August, September 2022”.
Attorney Jeremy Hogan added that the parties can stipulate a shorter time frame and the judge would agree with that. “But do you think the SEC would agree to shorter time frames? Me neither!”
To conclude, and assuming there won’t be any future and unexpected delays, the new prediction is that the SEC v. Ripple lawsuit won’t be decided judicially until at least August 2022 and more likely September of this year.
A settlement is still possible, namely if the SEC feels threatened by Ripple’s findings and arguments throughout the next few months. While it would be natural for Ripple to want a settlement in order to get back to orderly business, chief executive Brad Garlinghouse has said he wants to take the case to the very end.
