SEC Granted Time Extension to Object to Attorney John Deaton’s Move to Represent 67K Ripple (XRP) Holders

SEC’s time extension request has been granted. 

A United States District Court has granted the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an extension of time to object to attorney John Deaton’s amici request less than 24 hours after the motion was filed.

Following the Court’s approval, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s objection to attorney Deaton’s amici request to participate in the expert challenge is now expected to be submitted by June 7, 2022.

The court also ordered that any response to the SEC’s objection must be filed by June 10, 2022, in order to allow the parties to proceed with the lawsuit.

Judge Analisa Torres granted the SEC’s request since both the Defendants and attorney Deaton did not object to Plaintiff’s request for an extension of time to file an objection.

Legal expert attorney James K. Filan disclosed the development of the microblogging platform Twitter, saying:

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP The Court has granted the SEC’s motion for extension of time to file an opposition to amici’s request to participate in the expert challenge. SEC’s objection is due by June 7, 2022 and any responses to that objection are due by June 10, 2022. pic.twitter.com/EVZJKGv7Yz

— James K. Filan ????96k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) May 25, 2022

Attorney Deaton Requests to Represent XRP Holders

Recall that attorney Deaton took advantage of the amici status given to him earlier in the lawsuit to request that the court grant him the necessary approval to enable him to represent 67,300 XRP holders in the upcoming expert challenge.

Attorney Deaton is seeking to file a brief on behalf of 67,300 XRP holders in response to the upcoming testimony of one of SEC’s experts, Patrick B. Doody.

Doody’s Testimony Not Looking Good for Ripple

Doody is expected to tell the court what motivated XRP holders to buy the cryptocurrency during Ripple’s Initial Coin Offering (ICO) in 2013.

Although one cannot say exactly what is contained in Doody’s testimony, it is expected that the SEC’s expert would deploy the same tactic he used during the SEC v. Telegram lawsuit.

At the time, Doody noted that investors bought Telegram tokens (GRAM) in expectation of huge returns, which makes the digital currency security, thus subject to the regulatory oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to attorney Jeremy Hogan, a Partner at Hogan & Hogan law firm, Doody’s expert testimony was one of the Court’s bases for concluding that GRAM was security.

It is worth noting that Ripple and its community are focused on dismissing such testimony from Doody, as it could become a major determinant in the lawsuit like the Telegram situation.

Attorney Deaton Addresses Community’s Outburst Toward Him

Meanwhile, the Ripple community lashed out at attorney Deaton for not objecting to the SEC’s extension of time requests, which they believe would cause further delays in the lawsuit.

Responding to the outburst, attorney Deaton tweeted that his hands were tied since Ripple and Individual Defendants had already agreed to the SEC’s request.

I’m well aware of the frustration #XRPHolders have regarding extensions, but please understand it would have looked very poorly, and without consequence, for me to object when the parties are in agreement. https://t.co/ymB3Hg37fx

— John E Deaton (@JohnEDeaton1) May 24, 2022