The U.S. Department of Justice’s bankruptcy watchdog is seeking to force a law firm to give back millions of dollars in fees it earned in cases presided over by a top Texas bankruptcy judge after he confirmed he had been in an undisclosed romantic relationship with one of its lawyers.
The Justice Department’s Office of the U.S. Trustee late on Thursday began filing motions in several corporate bankruptcy cases seeking to reverse decisions by Houston-based U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones to award fees to Jackson Walker.
Jones, who came to handle more major Chapter 11 corporate bankruptcies than any other judge nationally, presided over at least 26 cases in which he awarded Jackson Walker about $13 million in fees while he was in a relationship with a partner at the firm, the U.S. Trustee said in one of the filings.
Similar motions were lodged in at least 10 other bankruptcy cases including those of JC Penney, Nieman Marcus and Westmoreland Coal Company.
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US seeks return of fees from law firm tied to bankruptcy judge resignation
