The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has set February 22, 2021, as the date for the preliminary hearing of the lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Ripple Labs and its principal actors.
According to a court document filed Tuesday, attorneys representing all parties on the matter will hold a telephone conference. As part of the preparations for the pre-trial, the parties to the case will submit a joint letter one week before the pre-trial date:
“(1) a brief description of the case, including the factual and legal basis for the claim (s) and defense (s), (2) any proposed motions and (3) the prospect of settlement.”
Earlier in December, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Ripple, accusing the blockchain company of selling XRP tokens in violation of the Securities Act. The legal status of XRP as a commodity or a security has long been the subject of debate inside and outside the crypto-space.
Several cryptocurrency exchanges have responded to the lawsuit by suspending XRP trading or removing the token completely from their platforms. Investment firms such as Bitwise Asset Management also liquidated their XRP shares following the SEC’s enforcement action.
As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Ripple partner MoneyGram has distanced itself from the company, claiming it does not use RippleNet. The XRP price also fell significantly, by more than 65% in December.
In a statement issued earlier this week, Ripple accused the SEC of harming XRP token holders. Ripple also stated its intention to respond to the Commission’s claims against the company.