The Ripple vs SEC lawsuit has taken a new turn as the U.S. district court judge referred the case to a magistrate judge for settlement. This decision comes after the court granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion for summary judgment in the Zakinov v. Ripple lawsuit.

The judge also sidelined the SDNY court’s ruling that XRP programmatic sales are not securities, raising hot debate in the XRP community. The XRP price fell in response to Judge Hamilton’s decision to continue the trial on Ripple CEO Garlinghouse.

The district court for the Northern District of California’s Judge Phyllis Hamilton issued an order in the class action lawsuit against defendants Ripple, XRP II, and CEO Brad Garlinghouse. The judge granted defendants’ motion for summary judgment on the federal and state class claims. However, defendants are denied summary judgment on plaintiff Sostack’s individual claim under California law.

In a further order by Judge Phyllis Hamilton, the Ripple case was referred to Magistrate Judge Robert Illman for resolution between the parties. Judge Hamilton didn’t agree with SDNY Judge Torres’ summary judgment on XRP programmatic sales, claiming that investors did rely on Ripple’s efforts for profits.

The Ripple class action lawsuit has raised concerns over XRP’s status as not a security. Former SEC lawyer Marc Fagel said the biggest concern for Ripple is the SEC using this California case in the Second Circuit in its appeal against Judge Torres’ summary judgment on XRP. However, the court must first state whether XRP sales were security to reach the fraud issue.

Pro-XRP Bill Morgan and Fagel also added that the lawsuit may not have broader implications even if in case of adverse finding for Ripple. The XRP price slipped to a low of $0.486 to trade range-bound this week, with the price currently trading at $0.489. The price jumped over the $0.50 level but retraced back, with a 24-hour high and low of $0.4906 and $0.5002, respectively. The trading volume has increased by 9% in the last 24 hours, indicating some interest in traders.