SEC Files Request to Seal Its Response Opposing Amici’s Participation In Upcoming Expert Challenge

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a proposed redaction under seal, opposing amici’s request to participate in the upcoming expert challenge of Mr. Patrick Doody. 

According to a recent motion, the SEC is poised to seal its response in opposition to amici’s request to file a brief regarding Mr. Doody’s opinions to keep the expert safe from angry investors, who had seen the value of their XRP investments crash tremendously since the beginning of the lawsuit.

The agency noted that 11 of the 17 submitted Exhibits should not be publicized by the court because doing so will put Mr. Doody’s life at risk.

Per the motion, both Ripple and the SEC had a meeting to discuss which of the exhibits should be filed under public dockets and the ones that should be kept confidential.

#XRPCommunity #SECGov v. #Ripple #XRP 1/3 The SEC filed its request to seal its response to the amici motion to participate in the Daubert challenge. The SEC claims that "while some information the SEC seeks to seal has already been publicized by Movants’ counsel, John Deaton, pic.twitter.com/G7AGeP0rh6

— James K. Filan ????101k+ (beware of imposters) (@FilanLaw) June 15, 2022

SEC’s Quest to Seal Its Objections 

“The SEC admits that proposed redactions to the opposition brief and sealing of 11 exhibits are narrowly tailored to serve the higher value of protecting witness safety in light of the likelihood that past harassment and threats will continue in the absence of such steps,” the agency stated.

Notably, the SEC accused attorney John Deaton of publicizing some information about Mr. Doody on the microblogging platform Twitter, which it initially planned to seal.

“While some information the SEC seeks to seal has already been publicized by Movants’ attorney, John Deaton, the SEC seeks to seal this and other materials to prevent further threats to and harassment of the SEC’s expert,” the agency added.

Doody’s Safety Paramount

The Securities and Exchange Commission concluded that while Experts’ witness understands that opposition parties can challenge their opinions as part of efforts to dismiss their testimony, they should not be subject to a campaign of humiliation, harassment, or threats, adding:

“Any additional disclosure about the expert or his opinions, including disclosure of material that is already in the public domain, will lead to additional threat and harassment of the expert.”

Attorney Hogan Defends His Colleague

Meanwhile, attorney Jeremy Hogan, a partner at Hogan & Hogan law firm, noted that attorney Deaton has every right to comment on the SEC expert witness regardless of whether the comment is negative or not.

He added that it is “ridiculous” for the SEC to misinterpret attorney Deaton’s comment on its expert witness as threatening and harassing.

Deaton may have commented on the SEC's expert witness. That is fair, desirable and something that people SHOULD do – even if the commentary is negative!

But the SEC's conflation of Deaton's comments with harassing/threatening statements others MAY have made is just ridiculous. https://t.co/U8585GIMRT pic.twitter.com/kM9R6v3mZv

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) June 15, 2022

With the Securities and Exchange Commission seeking to seal its opposition to amici’s participation in the brief, Judge Analisa Torres would be in the best position to decide what would be made public regarding the SEC’s expert testimony.