Judge Torres is Frustrated with Ripple SEC Lawsuit, Says XRP Lawyer

Judge Analisa Torres recently rejected a joint attempt by Ripple and the SEC to modify the court’s previous judgment with an agreed-upon injunction. Legal expert Fred Rispoli believes this decision reveals something deeper and said, “Welcome to the new SEC — for now, more or less the same as the last one.”

On X, Rispoli made a long post , saying that no legal barriers were preventing Judge Torres from accepting the motion. But she did not. So Rispoli breaks down two reasons for the rejection. First, Judge Torres is frustrated that the case dragged on for 4.5 years with intensive litigation. Another reason is that she may have political biases, possibly being resistant to perceived Trump-era influences in the case.

Rispoli says neither the SEC nor Ripple gave a strong enough reason to explain why the court should now ignore or soften the harsh words it previously used, like calling Ripple’s actions “egregious.” He thinks the SEC didn’t take real responsibility for its past actions in the Ripple case.

There are two possible reasons for this, as per him. Neither Ripple nor the SEC ever discusses the need to include honest statements from current officials, which would be a big legal mistake. Else, the Ripple did ask, and the SEC refused.

“This crappy motion on SEC letterhead is the best I can offer,” Rispoli joked, likening the effort to a meme from Pawn Stars. He says the SEC hasn’t really changed on crypto. He doubts the SEC will stay silent and let Ripple win, calling that a “0% chance.” Instead, he expects a quiet $50 million settlement, with the injunction left in place. 

Rispoli says the court’s injunction doesn’t impact XRP’s secondary market or future ETF approvals. It only matters if the SEC chooses to enforce it, which seems unlikely under current leadership. As he puts it, “It only matters if the SEC wants it to matter.” He adds that the SEC has the authority to grant waivers that remove any restrictions from the injunction, like IPO timing. So nothing’s stopping them from clearing the path if they want to.

Ripple has already claimed it changed its business practices. Rispoli points to their use of the phrase “historic institutional sales” as a sign both sides are ready to move on.