Ex-Highland Capital Management CEO Can’t Duck Contempt Finding

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit unanimously upheld a contempt order against the cofounder and former CEO of Highland Capital Management on Monday, rejecting the executive’s argument that errors in the way the sanction was awarded mandated its undoing.

James Dondero had appealed to the Fifth Circuit in September 2022, arguing the bankruptcy judge, Chief Judge Stacey G.C. Jernigan, wrongly found him in contempt of a temporary restraining order and awarded compensatory damages to Highland. Dondero had filed an adversary proceeding against Highland, raising objections to the disposition of the company’s assets in bankruptcy.