In a recent twist in the Ripple-SEC lawsuit, Judge Torres has denied the parties' recent motion for an indicative ruling, saying, "If jurisdiction were restored to this Court, the Court would deny the parties’ motion as procedurally improper."

On May 8, Ripple and the SEC requested an indicative ruling to dissolve the injunction included in the final judgment and release the escrow account holding the $125,035,150 civil penalty imposed against Ripple, with $50 million paid to the SEC and the remainder paid to Ripple.

Despite the denial, which surprised the XRP community, the settlement still stands, as it has not been rejected, only delayed. According to Ripple Chief Legal Counsel Stuart Alderoty, "Nothing in today’s order changes Ripple’s wins (i.e., XRP is not a security, etc.). This is about procedural concerns with the dismissal of Ripple’s cross-appeal. Ripple and the SEC are fully in agreement to resolve this case and will revisit this issue with the court together."

Legal expert weighs in

XRP enthusiast and legal expert Bill Morgan, who has been closely following the lawsuit, has weighed in on the latest development.

Morgan provided an update on the settlement process in a tweet. Both parties reached a settlement agreement and filed a motion to hold the appeal and cross-appeal in abeyance. On May 8, the parties filed a Rule 62.1 motion requesting an indicative ruling, which is the first of the last three steps that would finally end the lawsuit.

In a surprising turn, the motion for the indicative ruling was denied by Judge Torres due to "procedural error"; according to Morgan, it did not address "Rule 60."

Once an indicative ruling is obtained, the SEC and Ripple will ask the Second Circuit for a limited remand to Judge Torres to seek the remedies agreed upon. Upon the granting of the remand, the SEC and Ripple will file a motion with Judge Torres requesting the relief; after the injunction is dissolved and the funds distributed, the parties will request that the Court of Appeals dismiss the SEC’s appeal and Ripple’s cross-appeal, and the lawsuit will finally be concluded.

Meanwhile, Morgan expects the parties to file another procedurally correct joint motion to proceed with the settlement process.