Combined Class-Action Lawsuit Against Ripple Moves to Federal Court

Attorneys for Ripple Labs and its affiliated defendants filed to move a consolidated class-action lawsuit from its previous venue at the San Mateo Superior Court to the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, according to court documents published Wednesday.

The defendants argued that the consolidated suit matches the requirements for a case to be brought before the higher, federal court.

Ripple's attorneys argue that, under the U.S. Class Action Fairness Act, the case can now be shifted to federal court.

Simply the act of seeking to move the case to district court means the case is now before that federal court, said Stephen Palley, a partner at the D.C.-based law firm Anderson Kill.

Palley told CoinDesk that plaintiffs can try to move the case back before a state-level court by filing a motion to remand.

A subsequent filing entered on Thursday indicates that the plaintiffs will file a motion to remand the case back to the San Mateo Superior Court.

The next deadline for Ripple to respond to the complaint itself will either be two weeks from the date the motion to remand is denied or two weeks from when the San Mateo court receives the case.

Speaking about class-action lawsuits in general, Palley explained that "The conventional wisdom is that state court juries and judges tend to be more sympathetic to plaintiffs," possibly in part because state-level courts will draw from a more local jury pool.

"There's also a perception that sometimes a state court judge ... may be more political," he said, noting that some state-level judges are elected.

"Defendants, on the other hand, have a perception that they'll get a more fair shake in federal court."