Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official Joseph Hall believes the commission will lose a $1.3 billion lawsuit against Ripple.
“I’m not quite sure what the SEC expects to prove in the XRP case. The SEC has a lot riding on this case. Their whole regulatory project could fall apart if they lose on the merits of the case. I continue to think it’s highly likely that the SEC will lose on the merits of the case,” said Hall.
He added that he believes Ripple’s defense position is credible because the SEC did not give the company advance notice of its investigation, as it should have done.
“I am very sympathetic to this argument. It’s a basic due process argument. The Ripple network worked for years before a lawsuit was filed against them at the last minute,” he added.
Another lawyer, Jeremy Hogan, also supported Hall’s position. In a Feb. 23 tweet, he cited precedent from a case the SEC brought against Library Credits (LBRY) last March. The case was dismissed because the SEC failed to provide advance notice.
Legal documents provided to Ripple by law firm Perkins Coie in 2012 were previously made public. According to the reports, XRP could not be considered a security at the time of launch.