SEC vs Coinbase Legal Showdown Set for July 13 After Exchange’s “Creative” Opening Response

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will present its response to Coinbase (COIN)’s first legal defense on July 13, according to a court order Thursday.

The date of the hearing is now much earlier than expected, prompted by a “creative” defense tactic used by Coinbase, where the exchange submitted its first response 40 days before the August 7 deadline.

Under the rules, the SEC had to file a response to Coinbase’s defense by July 3. The SEC requested an extension of three business days due to the July 4 holiday weekend, which was granted by the court.

In addition, the court converted the pretrial conference into a pre-motion conference and postponed it until July 1[ads1]3 at 14:00 UTC from 24 August. A pre-motion conference is an application made by the prosecutor or defense attorney asking the court to make a decision on a specific issue before the trial.

In response to the SEC’s complaint, Coinbase has argued that many of the symbols highlighted in the SEC’s case fall outside the commission’s purview.

“Coinbase has responded to the SEC’s complaint with a variety of defenses, including that this action violates due process and constitutes an abuse of discretion. But there is a more fundamental problem with the SEC’s case – one that the chairman acknowledged two years ago and which gives Coinbase the right to judging by the pleadings now: The matter falls outside the SEC’s jurisdiction,” Coinbase’s attorney said in a recent letter to the SEC court.

The exchange’s tactic of advancing the case via a motion for judgment on the pleadings by filing a response 40 days early is not seen as unusual in cases like this but is a “creative strategy,” a legal expert said. The exchange’s move is designed to “get documents helpful to the case before the judge through the response,” MetaLawman, a lawyer and legal commentator on Twitter, said in a tweet thread.

“On a motion to dismiss, a judge can only consider the factual allegations in the complaint and any documents attached or referenced in the complaint — nothing else,” MetaLawMan explained. “On a motion for judgment on the pleadings, however, a judge may consider other orders filed in the case, which would include the defendant’s answer to the complaint.”

Coinbase did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for further comment.

During the court appearance on July 13, Judge Katherine Polk Failla will decide whether Coinbase will be allowed to proceed with this proposal.

“This is usually a formality and permission is granted unless there is a very good reason offered by the other side,” MetaLawMan said.