Judge Slams Ex-Judge Jones but Dismisses Fraud Case in Houston Bankruptcy Romance Scandal

With “some consternation,” a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former McDermott shareholder who claims that he was defrauded out of his ownership stake in the company through a conspiracy that included former Houston Bankruptcy Judge David Jones, his secret girlfriend Elizabeth Freeman, her former law firm Jackson Walker and mega-corporate law firm Kirkland & Ellis.

Calling the defendants’ alleged conduct “egregious,” Western District of Texas Chief District Judge Alia Moses ruled late Friday that she resisted “the temptation to bend the existing frameworks [of current precedent] to bring a vexing case to a palatable resolution” and granted the defendants’ motions to dismiss on the basis that the plaintiff did not have standing.