Three retired federal judges from Texas joined 32 of their former colleagues on the federal bench last week urging a Florida judge to examine whether there is anything fraudulent behind the decision by President Donald Trump and his family to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the creation of a $1.8 billion settlement fund for those they maintain were mistreated by the Biden administration.
Retired U.S. District Judges Barbara Lynn of the Northern District of Texas, retired U.S. District Judge John T. Ward of the Eastern District and retired U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Owsley of the Southern District signed the 20-page “motion for relief from judgment” urging the federal judge in Florida to reopen the lawsuit and conduct an inquiry.
“To be clear, the parties’ settlement was not, and never will be, legally justified,” the brief states.
Two prominent Republican-appointed conservative federal judges, retired Judge Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and retired U.S. District Judge John Jones of the Middle District of Pennsylvania, also joined the brief.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams agreed to reopen the case to see if the plaintiffs’ dismissal was “premised on deception.”
Former Judge Lynn said she joined the petition on the issue of “whether the district judge continues to have the right of scrutiny” after a case is dismissed or settled.
“The issue is whether a lawsuit is filed for an improper purpose,” she said. “Lawsuits are not just between two private parties” when they are filed in the nation’s courts.
The Texas lawyers who wrote the brief included Susman Godfrey partners Neal Manne, Justin Nelson, Stephen Shackelford, Davida Brook, Zach Savage, Glenn Bridgman, Jillian Hewitt, Nick Carullo and Russell Rennie. The Platkin law firm from New Jersey is also co-counsel.
The case is President Donald Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, Southern District of Florida, Case No. 1:26-cv-20609.