Judge Analise Torres of the US District Court sided with Ripple Labs when the company requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) make certain records about a lecture by former SEC employee William Hinman available to the public.
William Hinman stated at a symposium in 2018 that the selling of Ethereum and comparable cryptocurrencies are not a security.
Access to Hinman’s statement has been requested by Ripple Labs in order to refute the SEC’s argument that XRP ought to be regarded as a security.
The SEC has fought court orders to provide up the Hilman paper to Ripple, arguing that it was shielded by the deliberative process privilege.
Yet, Judge Sarah Netburn, back in January, determined that the DPP did not safeguard Hilman’s speech as it expressed his personal view and not the determination of the SEC.
The SEC declined to provide the document, thereby submitting a motion to claim that the material is protected by the attorney-client privilege.
Judge Torres emphasized in the most recent court decision on September 29 that the attorney-client privilege will not be employed because the document was not meant to give or seek professional counsel.
The SEC was instructed to deliver the Hinman file to Ripple Labs once the court had given it serious thought.
Since the court decision was published, the value of Ripple’s native XRP cryptocurrency has grown by more than 10%.