After the attorneys argued their case at trial and submitted post-trial briefs to U.S. District Court Judge Ada Brown, the judge recused herself without explanation. Now, the attorneys may have to retry the case before a new judge.
The bench trial between the trustee of a Dallas luxury senior living community and its landlord began in May.
Edgemere, located in University Park, signed a ground lease agreement with Intercity Investment Properties in 1999 for 55 years. However, the company began to struggle financially, defaulted on payments and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022.
The Dallas Morning News reported the senior living community was bought by Bay 9 Holdings LLC in June 2023 for about $48.5 million. Certus Living now manages the community.
The trustee of the Edgemere Litigation Trust, former Western District Bankruptcy Court Judge Leif Clark, asserted claims against Intercity for breach of contract and fraud. The claims include breach of a nondisclosure agreement, promissory fraud, tortious interference, breach of forbearance agreement, civil conspiracy and equitable subordination.
In July, Judge Brown recused herself from the case, which was reassigned to Judge Brantley Starr.
Lead counsels for the parties, Greg Taylor of Diamond McCarthy Taylor & Finley and Jamil Alibhai of Munsch Hardt Kopf and Harr, said they were unaware of the reason for Judge Brown’s recusal.
Judge Starr stated he could either rule on the existing record or retry the case if the parties wished to recall witnesses. According to the docket, he would give each side four hours to retry the case to him.
Taylor said they have requested to recall some witnesses, but Judge Starr has not ruled on that request at this time.
Allen Diamond, Brian Hogue, Christopher Johnson, Drew Jones and Stephen Loden of Diamond McCarthy Taylor & Finley also represented Edgemere.
Garrick Smith, Brent Turman, Caroline Rumbolo, Chad Ray, Michael Harvey and Toni Swanger of Munsch Hardt Kopf and Harr also represented Intercity Investments Properties.
The case number is 3:24-cv-03075.