© 2016 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(Sept. 7) – Three Texas-based law firms announced Wednesday that they secured a $120 million settlement agreement this week for the 18,000 investors victimized by Houston financier Allen Stanford.
Dallas law firms Strasburger & Price and Neligan Foley teamed with San Antonio-based Castillo Snyder to represent those who lost investments ranging from a few thousand to several million dollars in Stanford’s Ponzi scheme.
On Wednesday, the firms filed notice in federal court that London-based Willis Group, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the world, had agreed to pay the victims $120 million for its role in the massive fraud, which reportedly cost investors about $7 billion.
The settlement ends a seven-year-long litigation battle.
The law firms have previously settled lawsuits with Kroll Inc., BDO Seidman and New York law firm Chadbourne & Parke for a total of $100 million.
Judy Blakeway, a partner at Strasburger in San Antonio, and David Kitner, a Strasburger partner in Dallas, served as co-lead counsel in several of the cases.
“While this is an important step forward, there are multiple cases still pending, and we will continue to fight for the victims of Stanford’s fraud to maximize their recovery,” Kitner said in a written statement.
The litigation team also included San Antonio lawyer Edward Snyder of Castillo Snyder and Doug Buncher of Neligan Foley in Dallas.
“With the court’s approval of these recent settlements, the Stanford investors will receive their largest recovery to date in what has been an ongoing nightmare for them,” said Snyder. “This has been a long road for the victims, as well as for us. We have litigated these cases for over seven years now, including a successful appeal all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Stanford is serving a 110-year sentence in federal prison in Florida.
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