Pro-XRP Lawyer Says Investors’ Class Certification Against Ripple Is Bad News 

Top lawyers in support of Ripple and XRP are reacting to the recent certification of investors’ class against Ripple.

Pro-XRP lawyers have been reacting to a recent ruling regarding a class litigation against Ripple Labs filed by investors. Some of these attorneys believe the development does not bode well for the Silicon Valley company.

Judge Certifies Class Against Ripple

According to a Law.Com report, a federal judge certified a class of investors litigating against the California-based cryptocurrency behemoth.

The plaintiff claimed that Ripple Labs violated federal and state laws by offering XRP as an unregistered security. Consequently, tens of thousands of XRP holders can assert their securities claim against Ripple Labs, its CEO Brad Garlinghouse, and its subsidiary as part of the class.

Although Ripple and its subsidiary challenged the certification, U.S. Senior District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled that the class met all four requirements for certification.

Pro-XRP Lawyers React

The development has stirred reactions from XRP community members, including top attorney Fred Rispoli. In a tweet yesterday, attorney Rispoli said the news is bad for Ripple.

@DigPerspectives Haven't read the order and article behind paywall but…bad news for @Ripple for sure. Never good for a company when a class is certified HOWEVER considering its going the distance with @SEC it would seem the same strategy would apply here. In this case…1/2 https://t.co/6G32SH3x8a

— Fred Rispoli (@freddyriz) July 4, 2023

According to Rispoli, it is not good news for a company when a class is certified against it. However, since the lawsuit will follow the exact duration of the SEC vs. Ripple legal battle, Fred expects the same strategy to apply in the case.

‘In this case, the next step is summary judgment, so it is “behind” the pace of the SEC case,’ he added.

Furthermore, attorney Rispoli said he needs to research what would happen if XRP is not ruled as a security in New York, but the judge in the Oakland case finds the crypto asset to be a security. He also called on former SEC director Marc Fagel and other lawyers to comment.

Attorney Rispoli has been vocal about the lawsuit between SEC and Ripple. Last week, he speculated that Judge Analisa Torres could issue the summary judgment decision in August.

In addition, attorney Jeremy Hogan, a Partner of Hogan & Hogan, also commented on the development. Per attorney Hogan, the class certification suggests that the judge thinks more investors will make similar claims, which should be lumped together.

Notably, he said the certification case would not affect the SEC vs. Ripple lawsuit.

Class certification just means the Judge thinks there will be enough Plaintiffs that all the claims should be kinda lumped together. It's really a no-brainer here.

But it has no effect on the SEC case whatsoever. I am curious how the SEC case will affect the class action though.

— Jeremy Hogan (@attorneyjeremy1) July 5, 2023

SEC Vs. Ripple Lawsuit

Meanwhile, Ripple is still embroiled in a legal battle with the United States SEC. The crypto community, especially XRP supporters, is awaiting the summary judgment of the case.

Similarly, a spokesperson for Ripple said Judge Hamilton is also willing to wait for the outcome of the SEC lawsuit before proceeding with the newly certified class.

“With this ruling, the [c]ourt also indicated its willingness to await the outcome of the SEC v. Ripple case before moving forward with this suit, brought by professional plaintiff lawyers seeking to profit off the United States’ failure to provide regulatory clarity,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said he is delighted the court did not approve the plaintiff’s request for a world-class certification.