SEC’s Response Deadline Extends in Coinbase Case

According to a court order issued on Thursday, June 29, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will respond to Coinbase’s initial legal defense on July 13.

In a filing with the court, the SEC requested an extension of three business days.

This extension was requested to allow the SEC sufficient time to prepare a response to the letter submitted by the defendant, Coinbase. The defendants have granted the request.

According to Rule 4(A) of the court’s rules, the previous deadline for the SEC to respond to Coinbase’s letter was July 3, 2023.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla, however, granted the SEC’s request for additional time and set the new deadline for July 13.

In addition, the court rescheduled the pre-trial conference as a pre-motion conference, moving it from August 24 to July 13 at 2:00 p.m. UTC.

A pre-motion meeting is a request presented to the court by the prosecutor or defense attorney seeking a judgment on a particular matter before trial.

Coinbase has since filed a letter with the court, dated June 28, 2023, requesting permission to file a petition for judgment on the pleadings under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c).

The filing of this motion was in response to the SEC’s complaint. Earlier, Coinbase had also filed a 177-page response to the criticism, forty days before the August 7 deadline.

It is essential to note, in the context of a motion for judgment on the pleadings, that a judge has the authority to review additional pleadings submitted in the case, including the defendant’s answer to the complaint.

In its response, Coinbase included a thorough “Preliminary Statement” delineating its legal arguments for dismissing the case, providing the judge with substantial material to consider.

Coinbase has responded to the SEC’s complaint by claiming that many of the tokens mentioned in the SEC’s case fall outside the commission’s jurisdiction.