Susman Godfrey and litigation funder Longford Capital face a lawsuit from an Irish patent monetization firm over a $37 million award.
The suit filed Thursday by Arigna Technology in Harris County claims arbitrators came to the $37 million award by corruption and fraud. The story was first reported by Bloomberg News.
Arigna hired Susman in August 2020 to enforce patents. The Houston-based firm obtained funding from Longford for the litigation.
Arigna claims a dispute arose between the parties in 2023 over how much Longford was owed from a multiparty settlement. The firm filed a complaint in Delaware federal court over Longford filing a first-priority lien on the settlement proceeds.
The case was moved to arbitration in June 2024. A final award of over $37 million was issued in July 2025 in Longford’s favor.
Arigna appealed the award, which the Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services Appellate Panel dismissed last month.
Arigna stated it filed suit against Longford to vacate an arbitration decision that should never have issued.
“The relevant funding agreement was between Longford and Susman, not Arigna. Arigna should never have been in arbitration in the first place. As the suit makes clear, Longford’s claim in arbitration was an overreaching attempt to take money from companies it had no contractual relationship with and from law firms, investors, and cases it never funded,” Arigna said in a statement to The Texas Lawbook. “The award from the JAMS arbitrator (who was selected by Longford and Susman, not Arigna) was in error for numerous reasons.”
Arigna claims the JAMS Appellate Panel “improperly abandoned its duty to review” the award and upheld it without allowing any briefing or argument.
“Arigna is confident that this injustice will be set aside by a district court,” Arigna stated.
Neither Susman Godfrey nor JAMS immediately responded to a request for comment.
Counsel for the defendants has not filed appearances at this time.
Steven Callahan of Charhon Callahan Robson & Garza is representing Arigna.
The case is Arigna Technology Limited v. Longford Capital Fund III, 2026-05917.