Ripple and the SEC have asked the court to establish a deadline by which non-parties to the current lawsuit may file a motion to seal any portion of the summary judgment papers.

Defense attorney James K. Filan provided a copy of the letter filed yesterday. The SEC and Ripple requested that U.S. district judge Analisa Torres set a deadline of January 4, 2023, for non-parties to submit petitions for 

the sealing of specific portions of the summary judgment materials.

The SEC and Ripple promised to alert every non-party whose confidential information is contained in the summary judgment materials before filing the omnibus move to seal on December 22. The lawsuit will provide third parties enough time to ask for the sealing and redaction of any summary judgment records that contain sensitive information about them.

The parties assert that this will make it easier to quickly address any requests to seal or redact any or all of the materials relating to the summary judgment.

“Given the parties’ desire to reach an expeditious resolution of all sealing-related issues regarding the summary judgment materials, the parties respectfully ask the court set a deadline of January 4, 2023, by which any non-parties must move to seal portions of the summary judgment materials or else waive any objections to the court’s ultimate ruling on the parties’ sealing applications,” excerpt of the letter read.

Read more: Defeating Ripple’s Executives Will be Difficult, Says Deaton

Parties Also Propose a Deadline for the Opposition

Additionally, the SEC and Ripple ask the court to set a deadline of January 18, 2023, by which parties or non-parties may submit oppositions to the non-parties’ move to seal.

This action is vital to the lawsuit’s conclusion as it will simultaneously respond to the sealing requests of the parties and non-parties. The SEC and Ripple are leveraging the platform to make it possible for third parties to ask for the sealing of sensitive data contained in summary judgment motions or associated documents.

The action was taken days after the parties submitted their summary judgment replies, which they urged the court to find in their favor. To assess whether the asset class is a security, Judge Torres will likely make a decision shortly on the legality of XRP. There isn’t a time or date for Judge Torres to render her decision. Interestingly, Filan anticipates the Judge will decide on the issue by March 31, 2023, at the latest.