The American Arbitration Association was informed via a letter sent this week that one of its arbitrators overseeing a dispute between Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurant and a franchisee has continued to exhibit “egregious conduct” that includes “flagrant bias” against the Dallas law firm representing the restaurant.
The objection letter, sent April 15 to AAA administrator of the Dickey’s arbitration, Carissa Langston, calls out the behavior of arbitrator Gary Leydig. Dickey’s lawyers at Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann outlined in the 16-page letter how they believe Leydig has “harmed the arbitration process in this matter, wasted resources of the parties, and made a mockery of the integrity of the arbitration system.”
Lynn Pinker partner Mary Goodrich Nix signed off on the letter and detailed what she called Leydig’s “disrespect and hostility” toward her in particular.
“He referred to Ms. Nix as ‘Ms. Dix’ in an email after she sought to postpone a Feb. 24, 2025 status conference due to her father’s unexpected hospitalization,” the letter reads. “He has never apologized or acknowledged this, despite having been confronted with how offensive it was.”
Leydig refused to grant “any continuance or accommodation” when Nix’s father was in the hospital with a fatal illness. Nix is lead counsel for Dickey’s.
“During a hearing held on Feb. 24, 2025 — during which Ms. Nix participated from the hospital, due to arbitrator Leydig’s refusal to accommodate her family’s tragic circumstances — he accused Ms. Nix and her firm of being dishonest and untrustworthy, without any basis or evidence.”
Following that hearing, according to the objection letter, Leydig instructed all counsel in the case and the AAA “to remove Ms. Nix from all emails and notices, and demanded that an associate of her firm take over as lead counsel, without any authority or justification.”
Three weeks ago, Dickey’s filed a lawsuit against the AAA and Leydig in Dallas County district court based on what the company and its lawyer allege is the “flagrant and stated disregard” for the rule of law that resulted in death penalty sanctions against it in the case against G Six Consulting.
Dickey’s alleges that Leydig ordered two of its executives who are not parties to the arbitration or the arbitration agreement — Jeffrey Gruber, who is senior vice president of franchise relations, and Deborah Longworth, Dickey’s senior director of store development — to appear to submit to prehearing depositions.
“In flagrant and stated disregard for the FAA, AAA Rules, federal and Texas law, and all notions of equity and due process, Leydig has issued death-penalty sanctions against DBRI because the individual plaintiffs refused to waive their rights and submit to the jurisdiction of the AAA,” Dickey’s alleges in the 42-page lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Leydig issued sanctions that prevent Dickey’s from presenting any witness testimony or documentary evidence, bar it from cross-examining any G Six witnesses or presenting any expert witness of its own and exclude it from presenting any defenses against G Six’s claims.
Leydig’s order also dismissed Dickey’s counterclaims against G Six. Dickey’s argues that Leydig has “no power” to issue those sanctions did and that his order is “effectively a default judgment on all claims and counterclaims, which is a violation of law and AAA rules.”
G Six removed that lawsuit to federal court April 1 where it has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
The letter to AAA administrator Langston is the third objection Dickey’s has lodged to Leydig’s continued handling of the arbitration with G Six.
“The sanctions order allows Claimant to present any evidence or argument it wishes, without any limitation or scrutiny,” the letter states, outlining a litany of rules it says the action violates.
“Indeed, arbitrator Leydig’s order has paved the way for claimant to secure a liability finding upon only a prima facie showing of its case, allowing claimant to simply ignore any evidence not helpful to its case with no mechanism for Dickey’s to address such evidence,” the letter reads. “The sanctions order effectively pre-determines the outcome of the arbitration in favor of claimant, and renders the final hearing a sham and a waste of time and resources.”
The letter also accuses Leydig of providing the parties in this dispute a different biography of his work history than what attorneys for Dickey’s located on his law firm website. On his website, the letter alleges, Leydig “holds himself out as a ‘nationally recognized leader in the representation of and protection of franchisees.’”
“Arbitrator Leydig has also publicly expressed strong opinions favoring franchisees over franchisors, and has a career-long history of representing franchisees in matters similar to the current dispute,” the letter alleges.
Counsel for AAA and Leydig had not filed an appearance in the federal case as of Thursday afternoon, and the AAA did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
Dickey’s is also represented by Michael K. Hurst, Jamie R. Drillette and Amanda C. Alexander of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann.
G Six is represented by Abel Leal of Leal Law Firm and Robert M. Einhorn, Himanshu M. Patel and Mary Nikezic of Zarco Einhorn Salkowski.
The case is Dickey’s Barbecue Restaurants Inc. v. G Six Consulting, case number 3:25-cv-00789, in the Northern District of Texas.