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Bankruptcy

SDTX Bankruptcy Judge Jones Seeks Dismissal of Romance-Related Lawsuit

A lawsuit against former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones claiming that he conspired with lawyers at corporate law firms should be dismissed because “well-established judicial immunity doctrine … provides absolute immunity from suits for damages” for judges, lawyers for Judge Jones argued in court documents filed Thursday.

“This immunity applies even when the judge is accused of acting maliciously and corruptly, and the immunity extends to allegations of intentional misconduct,” David Boies, lawyer for Judge Jones, wrote in the motion to dismiss.

Motions Fly, Ex-Judge to be Deposed in SDTX Bankruptcy Court Romance Scandal Litigation

The litigation regarding the secret relationship between former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones and former Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman heated up Tuesday when the U.S. trustee seeking to claw back $13 million in legal fees from the Texas law firm asked Southern District of Texas Chief Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo Rodriguez to reject Jackson Walker’s “no harm, no foul” defense and Jackson Walker won the battle to depose Judge Jones as part of its defense against the trustee’s efforts.

At the same time, in separate but related litigation, lawyers for former Bouchard Transportation Company CEO Morton Bouchard asked U.S. District Chief Judge Alia Moses of the Western District of Texas to reject the defendants’ motions to dismiss the racketeering and fraud lawsuit he filed earlier this year against Judge Jones, Freeman, Jackson Walker, Kirkland & Ellis and Portage Point Partners.

Narrow SCOTUS Majority Prohibits Nonconsensual Third-Party Releases in Bankruptcy

While the ultimate outcome of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case is likely to remain uncertain for quite some time, the failure to approve the plan may ultimately mean that no money at all will flow to these victims of the opioid crisis. However, the decision also stands to have much broader implications on the use of Chapter 11 to solve complicated problems, especially relating to mass tort cases. Given this potential to alter the landscape of Chapter 11 practice in future cases, the Court’s statutory analysis in the Purdue Pharma decision warrants close scrutiny.

Litigation Roundup: Primexx Energy Wants Suit Over $788M Sale Tossed

In this edition of Litigation Roundup, we offer an update from the most recent hearing in the lawsuit stemming from the $788 million sale of Primexx Energy, a threatened lawsuit over the death of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson yields a settlement, and six officers and directors of a Houston-based clinic see an end to a $285 million breach claim.

More Lawyers Enter SDTX Bankruptcy Scandal Fray

The bankruptcy courts in the Southern District of Texas are still a hotbed for intense litigation, attracting some of the best lawyers in the nation — just not for the reasons the bankruptcy judges ever wanted or even contemplated. Prominent Texas lawyers David Beck, Rusty Hardin, Anne Johnson, Tom Kirkendall, Mike Lynn, John Sparacino, Jeff Tillotson and scores of other highly paid lawyers have been hired by plaintiffs, defendants and third parties involved in the legal fallout from the forced resignation late last year of former SDTX Chief Bankruptcy Judge David Jones. The Texas Lawbook has the details.

SCOTUS Sides with Insurer in Asbestos-related Chapter 11 Case

On Thursday, Justice Sonya Sotomayor delivered the 8-0 opinion of the court that held Truck Insurance Exchange should have been allowed to voice its concerns about the terms of a proposed $50 million settlement of thousands of asbestos-related lawsuits because the insurer is a “party in interest” in the dispute. Gibson Dunn’s Allyson Ho argued the case and spoke to The Lawbook about its implications.

Jackson Walker Offers 2021 Memo as Proof Partner Lied About Relationship with Bankruptcy Judge

The former McDermott International shareholder who exposed the secret relationship between a former Jackson Walker partner and the Houston bankruptcy judge who handled the McDermott restructuring is a “professional litigant” with a history of “perjured testimony and falsification of evidence” who has no legitimate legal claims against Jackson Walker. Those arguments were part of a 46-page document filed Friday by Houston trial lawyer Rusty Hardin, who represents Jackson Walker, seeking to dismiss the federal racketeering and fraud lawsuit filed against his client and others by McDermott investor Michael Van Deelen who seeks millions of dollars in damages, alleging the firm hid and profited from the romantic relationship between Elizabeth Freeman, a Jackson Walker bankruptcy partner between 2018 and 2022, and former Bankruptcy Judge David Jones.

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