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(Kitco News) - Following last week's summary judgment on portions of the case, the judge presiding over the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) lawsuit against Ripple Labs has ordered both parties to determine three mutually convenient dates for a potential settlement conference.
After the summary judgment rulings, District Judge Analisa Torres referred the case to Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn for General Pretrial, a pre-trial hearing where the attorneys representing both the plaintiff and defendant work together to establish the relevant facts, issues, and applicable laws that will be presented during the subsequent court trial.
According to a document posted on Twitter by Fox Business journalist and producer Eleanor Terrett, Magistrate Judge Netburn has ordered the two parties to work on finding a time to hold a settlement conference “if they believe it to be productive at this time.”
The call for a settlement conclave was recommended “In light of Judge Torres’s recent decisions on the parties’ cross-motions for summary judgment,” Netburn wrote.
“Due to the Court’s busy calendar, settlement conferences must generally be scheduled at least six to eight weeks in advance,” she added. “The Court will likely be unable to accommodate last-minute requests for settlement conferences, and the parties should not anticipate that litigation deadlines will be adjourned in response to late requests for settlement conferences.”
This order from the judge presents an opportunity for both parties to resolve the conflict without proceeding further in court, which can help save time and money. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse previously said the case against his company will end up costing them $200 million by the time it’s decided.
While a settlement conference can potentially lead to a mutually agreed-upon compromise, it is important to note that the judge’s suggestion does not guarantee an imminent resolution to the case. The parties must first decide if they believe a settlement conference would be productive at this stage.
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Last week, Judge Analisa Torres sent shockwaves across the cryptocurrency ecosystem when she partially ruled in favor of Ripple Labs and said that XRP was not deemed to be a security.
Both the SEC and Ripple Labs scored minor victories in the judgment from Torres, and Judge Netburn is now looking to have the parties come to a settlement on the remaining aspects of the case.
In response to the ruling and the question of whether it “injects urgency into the need for federal legislation to clarify regulatory oversight of this industry,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said the regulator had mixed feelings about the outcome.
“We are pleased that the court addressed […] that a token for institutional investors is a security […] disappointed in the other aspect about retail investors,” he said. “But we’re still taking a look at that and considering it.”
