Lawyer Renews Assault Claim Against US Judge in Recusal Bid

A Delaware federal judge again has been accused of assaulting an attorney more than 15 years ago during an argument about a political fundraiser while they worked at the same firm.

Attorney Francis G.X. Pileggi of Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith made the allegation against Judge Gregory Williams as part of an effort to have the judge recuse himself from litigation involving an employment dispute.

Williams previously denied assaulting Pileggi and declined to recuse himself, saying there was no evidence he was biased against Pileggi or his client. Pileggi has asked him to reconsider.

Williams is a Joe Biden appointee who joined the US District Court for the District of Delaware in 2022.

The alleged incident occurred in 2008 while both were at the Delaware office of a national law firm, which isn’t named in the filing. Pileggi and Williams worked for Fox Rothschild at the time.

According to Pileggi, Williams was “enraged” that he wasn’t named as a host of a political fundraiser on the invitation, and blamed Pileggi. Pileggi served on the campaign’s finance committee.

Williams “exploded with rage, and stormed into my office, without knocking, closing the door behind him, walked behind my desk, and thrust both of his hands against my chest, making me stumble backwards,” Pileggi claimed in a court filing. He said his desk chair and some personal items in the windowsill were knocked over.

The two left his office to continue the discussion away from others, during which Williams “again criminally assaulted me” and was “repeatedly challenging me to a fight,” Pileggi said. Pileggi alleged he walked away and that Williams was ultimately restrained by another attorney.

In a March order, Williams declined to recuse after finding the lawyer had failed to show any evidence that the judge “harbors any animus or bias against the Delaware attorney moving for recusal, and no evidence or reason to support any claim that the judge has ever had any bias against” his client.

In January 2023, Pileggi made the same allegations in a request for Williams to recuse himself from another of his cases. Those court papers were initially filed under seal, but made public months later.

In that case, Williams agreed to recuse himself and have the case reassigned. In his decision, he said there had been an argument, but denied he had initiated the dispute or physically assaulted Pileggi.

“The judge put the incident behind him years ago and has no personal animus or bias against Mr. Pileggi or his client,” the decision says.

However, Williams said he would still recuse in that matter “out of an abundance of caution and respect for the public’s confidence in the impartiality of this Court.”

Williams declined to comment through his chambers on the renewed claim in the newer case.

The case is: Fried v. Adapthealth, D. Del., No. 24-305-GBW