Ex-bankruptcy judge David Jones defeats bid for his phone records in tangled fee dispute
By Dietrich Knauth
Aug 7 (Reuters) -Former U.S. bankruptcy judge David Jones will not have his government cell phone records probed in a battle over attorneys' fees that he approved for his romantic partner's former law firm, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Jones resigned from the bench in October 2023 after admitting to a long-term, undisclosed relationship with bankruptcy attorney Liz Freeman, who was a partner at the law firm Jackson Walker, which regularly filed cases in Jones' court.
The U.S. Department of Justice's bankruptcy watchdog, the office of the U.S. Trustee, has argued that Jackson Walker should disgorge millions of dollars in legal fees that Jones approved in 33 bankruptcy cases filed by Jackson Walker.
As part of the fee dispute, an administrator charged with wrapping up J.C. Penney Co's 2020 bankruptcy had sought to subpoena a comprehensive record of calls and texts from Jones' government-issued cell phone, seeking to investigate a "rumor" that Jones improperly exchanged text messages with lawyers while he was presiding over the case.
But U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eduardo Rodriguez ruled at a Wednesday court hearing in Houston that the proposed subpoena was not properly targeted to the current fee dispute or the administrator's concern that Jones' conduct had a negative impact on J.C. Penney's bankruptcy.
"This is too broad of a request," Rodriguez said.
The subpoena could reveal every phone number that Jones had contact with while he was on the bench, including the non-public phone numbers of other judges or court staff, Rodriguez said.
Attorneys for Jones and a spokesman for Jackson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rodriguez said that the J.C. Penney administrator could return with a scaled-down demand for records related to specific phone numbers, after it investigates the rumor further from other sources.
Rodriguez also discussed a recent meeting between Jones and Jackson Walker, for which Rodriguez had threatened sanctions.
That portion of the hearing was not made public due to Rodriguez's concern about a judicial policy that prevents judges from testifying about their official acts.
Rodriguez said in a Saturday court order that Jones and Jackson Walker may have violated that policy, and his previous court orders, by meeting informally while Rodriguez was still deciding what topics Jones could discuss in depositions with Jackson Walker and the U.S. Trustee.
Rodriguez said he will quickly review Wednesday's discussion to determine what portions of the hearing can be publicly disclosed by transcript or audio recording.
"I'm pretty confident most of it should be unsealed," Rodrigez said after the closed portion of the hearing concluded.
The case is In Re: Professional Fee Matters Concerning the Jackson Walker Law Firm, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, No. 23-00645.
For Jones: Ben Finestone and Joanna Caytas of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan
For Jackson Walker: Jason Boland of Norton Rose Fulbright
For the J.C. Penney plan administrator: Stephen Lemmon of Streusand, Landon, Ozburn & Lemmon
Read more:
Top US bankruptcy judge resigns amid ethics inquiry
Law firm says Texas judge wanted 'untruthful' statement about lawyer romance
Ex-bankruptcy judge plays defense on pre-deposition talks, phone records
Reporting by Dietrich Knauth in New York
Aset Terkait
Berita Terbaru
Pengungkapan: Entitas XM Group menyediakan layanan khusus eksekusi dan akses ke Fasilitas Trading Online kami, yang memungkinkan Anda untuk melihat dan/atau menggunakan konten yang tersedia pada atau melalui situs, yang tidak untuk mengubah atau memperluas, serta tidak mengubah atau memperluas hal tersebut. Akses dan penggunaan ini selalu sesuai dengan: (i) Syarat dan Ketentuan; (ii) Peringatan Risiko; dan (iii) Pengungkapan Penuh. Oleh karena itu, konten disediakan hanya sebagai informasi umum. Anda juga harus ketahui bahwa konten Fasilitas Trading Online kami bukan sebagai ajakan atau tawaran untuk untuk melakukan transaksi apa pun di pasar finansial. Trading di pasar finansial mana pun melibatkan tingkat risiko yang signifikan pada modal Anda.
Semua materi yang diterbitkan di Fasilitas Trading Online kami hanya untuk tujuan edukasi/informasi dan tidak boleh mengandung nasihat dan rekomendasi finansial, pajak investasi atau trading, catatan harga trading kami, penawaran, permintaan, transaksi dalam instrumen finansial apa pun atau promo finansial untuk Anda yang tidak diminta.
Konten pihak ketiga apa pun, serta konten yang disiapkan oleh XM, seperti opini, berita, riset, analisis, harga, informasi lain atau link ke situs pihak ketiga yang tersedia "sebagaimana adanya", sebagai komentar pasar umum dan bukan menjadi nasihat investasi. Sejauh konten apa pun ditafsirkan sebagai penelitian investasi, Anda harus memperhatikan dan menerima bahwa konten tersebut tidak dimaksudkan dan belum disiapkan sesuai dengan persyaratan hukum yang dirancang untuk mempromosikan kemandirian riset investasi dan dengan demikian akan dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah hukum dan peraturan yang relevan. Mohon dipastikan bahwa Anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi pada Riset Investasi Non-Independen dan Peringatan Risiko kami mengenai informasi di atas, yang dapat diakses disini.
