Judge Torres rejected the notion that Ripple and the SEC could override a final court ruling through mutual agreement, emphasising that courts, not litigants, determine when a legal violation justifies injunctive relief and penalties

Quotes that support claims

The SEC and Ripple cannot erase a ruling simply because they have come to a private understanding

She clarified that only an appellate court can vacate a final judgment, not a private agreement, and said the legal standard for doing so is high—one she found neither Ripple nor the SEC had met.

But the parties do not have the authority to agree not to be bound by a court’s final judgment that a party violated an Act of Congress in such a manner that a permanent injunction and a civil penalty were necessary to prevent that party from violating the law again," Judge Torres said