Jackson Walker Moves to Toss Shareholder Suit Over Judge Romance

Jackson Walker LLP moved to dismiss a lawsuit accusing it of failing to disclose a romantic relationship between one of its former attorneys and a bankruptcy judge.

The suit should be thrown out for no fewer than 15 different legal reasons, Jackson Walker said in a Friday filing in the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The lawsuit was brought by Michael Van Deelen, a shareholder in McDermott International Inc.'s Chapter 11, which was overseen by the now-resigned Judge David R. Jones. Van Deelen accused Jones of hiding a romantic relationship with attorney Elizabeth Freeman while making rulings that were favorable to McDermott, which was represented by Jackson Walker and Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

Van Deelen later added Jackson Walker as a defendant, accusing it of knowingly concealing a likely conflict of interest. The two law firms knew of the relationship but said nothing and used the knowledge to profit, Van Deelen alleged.

“Mr. Van Deelen’s Amended Complaint is a sprawling pleading that rests upon irrelevant, conclusory allegations, most of which are unsupported by facts, and none of which withstand legal scrutiny,” Jackson Walker said in the filing.

The factual record shows Jackson Walker didn’t have knowledge of the romance until after McDermott’s bankruptcy plan was confirmed, the firm said. Freeman left the firm in December 2022.

Van Deelen’s suit is also a collateral attack on a confirmed bankruptcy plan, and he lacks standing to assert the claims, Jackson Walker said. Van Deelen wasn’t a McDermott creditor, so he wasn’t harmed by the bankruptcy, the motion said.

“The essence of the harm alleged for all his claims is based upon fiction,” the motion said.

Kirkland and Freeman each moved to dismiss the suit earlier this month. Van Deelen should be sanctioned because his attorneys lack a factual basis for making the claims in the suit, Kirkland said.

Jones previously argued he had judicial immunity against the suit.

Jackson Walker is represented by Rusty Hardin & Associates, LLP. Van Deelen is represented by Bandas Law Firm PC.

The case is Deelen v. Jones, S.D. Tex., No. 4:23-cv-03729, 3/22/24.