Judge rejects SEC’s Ripple interlocutory appeal

Judge Analisa Torres said the SEC did not present a “pure question of law” in its legal push

article-image

Gorev Evgenii/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Judge Analisa Torres shut down the Securities and Exchange Commission’s hope for an interlocutory appeal on Wednesday.

In a ruling, Torres wrote that the appeal for a stay of trial was also denied, ensuring that the trial against Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse and Christian Larsen will move forward as previously planned. 

Torres denied the SEC’s ability to pursue an interlocutory appeal on the grounds that her previous order — which gave Ripple a partial win — did not entail an order that “involved a controlling question of law,” which is necessary for the certification of an interlocutory appeal. 

The court did not find a “substantial ground for difference of opinion,” Torres wrote. 

If neither of those legal standards applied, then the SEC could have argued that the certification would “materially advance the termination of the litigation,” but Torres did not find merit in that argument. 

“Here, the SEC has not presented a ‘pure question of law’ that could be ‘decided quickly and cleanly without having to study the record,” Torres wrote.

“The SEC does not argue that the Court applied the wrong legal standard in deciding the cross-motions for summary judgment,” she continued. “Rather, the core of the SEC’s argument is that the Court improperly applied the Howey test to the facts in the undisputed record.”

As cited by Torres herself, the SEC has said that the Howey test should be applied to “the facts and circumstances at hand,” which means that its argument is not valid. 

The SEC filed its appeal in early August. At the time, the agency said that the appeal would “avoid the possibility of engaging in protracted remedies” in litigation.

Ripple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Don’t miss the next big story – join our free daily newsletter.

Follow Sam Bankman-Fried’s trial with the latest news from the courtroom

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (19).png

Research

Suilend has grown into the top money market and liquid staking provider on Sui. STEAMM, Suilend’s Superfluid AMM, presents a compelling avenue for growing market share within Sui’s DEX landscape and revenue generation for the protocol. Suilend’s multi-product suite position it well for owning market share across key verticals. While current metrics across the Sui ecosystem are likely inflated due to Sui Foundation incentive programs, SEND trades at amongst the lowest multiples in the lend/borrow sector, suggesting that a bull case for continued growth in the ecosystem may be mispriced.

article-image

The stablecoin issuer now plans to offer 32 million Class A common stock shares at a price of up to $28 each

article-image

Let’s go whale watching, Bitcoin style: Investigating the mysterious “12ib7” wallet now worth $3.2 billion

article-image

Bitget’s L2 is undergoing a leadership change and will be helmed by Colin Goltra, formerly the blockchain’s chief growth officer

article-image

The funding was spread out across 61 rounds, a slight dip in both number of rounds and total funding in comparison to other months

article-image

Why is it controversial to say things are better than they used to be?