A federal judge has dismissed a suit that alleged Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld senior counsel Edward Copley , the Dallas Museum of Art (DMA), Kern Wildenthal Jr., former president of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, and others engaged in fraud to deprive philanthropist Wynell Reves’ son, Arnold Leon Schroeder Jr., of his “rightful share of his mother’s estate.” In a Nov. 30 memorandum opinion and order in Schroeder v. Wildenthal, et al. , U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle of the Northern District of Texas in Dallas dismissed with prejudice the suit Schroeder of California filed in March against Copley, Wildenthal and the DMA, along with DMA board members George Charlton and Irvin Levy and former director Harry Parker III. Boyle described the following in her order: Reves’ husband died in 1981, and in 1983, after meeting with Parker, Charlton and Levy, she agreed to donate to the DMA the majority of an art collection she and her late husband had collected over the years. The collection was valued at as much as $400 million. In 1993, Reves met Wildenthal, and she later gave money to the UT Southwestern Medical Center; Copley did legal work for Reves beginning in 1998, including a will. Reves died in France in 2007. Schroeder alleged in his complaint that the defendants “collectively committed fraud” because they conspired to “circumvent the French forced heirship laws,” which would have provided him with 50 percent of Reves’ estate, Boyle wrote. However, the judge found Schroeder’s fraud claim “must fail,” because he “failed to allege any legal or equitable relationship that would give rise to a finding of constructive fraud” and, even if his claims were sufficient, they would be barred by the statute of limitations. She also dismissed Schroeder’s conspiracy claim because of his “failure to specify how the disparate acts, acts that occurred between 1983 and 2007, amount to a conspiracy, or when anything resembling a ‘meeting of the minds’ occurred.” Gary Eisenstat , a partner in Figari & Davenport in Dallas who represents Schroeder, says his client is disappointed in Boyle’s ruling. “We are considering our options with our client,” Eisenstat says. In a written statement provided by Kathryn Johnson, director of communications for Akin Gump, Copley says he is pleased with the court’s ruling. His attorney, Tom Melsheimer , a principal in Fish & Richardson in Dallas, says Copley followed Reves’ wishes when drafting her will. George Bramblett Jr. , a partner in Haynes and Boone in Dallas who represents Wildenthal, and Raymond LaDriere , a partner in Locke Lord in Dallas who represents the DMA defendants, each say their clients are pleased with Boyle’s order. In a statement provided by LaDriere, the DMA writes, “The court today has ensured that Mrs. Reves’s generous wishes of public benefit have been respected.”
Libel Litigation
On Dec. 12, the defendants in former Texas Supreme Court candidate Rick Green ‘s libel suit filed a first amended response in Green v. Phillips, et al. In April, Green filed the petition in Hays County’s 207th District Court, alleging he lost the 2010 Republican primary because political activists in his own party and media members “crossed the line” in attacking his character during the course of his campaign. In the petition, Green names seven defendants, including former Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Phillips, now a partner in Baker Botts in Austin; Dr. John R. Coppedge; the Texas Tribune; and the Texas Association of Realtors. Green alleges in the petition that the defendants published false statements about him in a letter, an article and an email. In their response, the defendants allege the published information about Green was “true” or “substantially true.” “Green alleges that these statements created a false and defamatory impression of the events. Defendants will show the contrary. . . . The facts . . . were much worse than the statements published by the Defendants,” the defendants allege. Jim George , a partner in Austin’s George & Brothers who represents the defendants, says he expects to file a summary judgment motion seeking dismissal of Green’s petition after depositions are taken in the case. For now, the defendants are just laying out their truth-as-a-defense argument in detail, George says. Robert Bozelli , an associate with Dripping Springs’ Watt Law Firm who represents Green says, “Mr. Green is reviewing the answer, and further comment will be provided by request, and the lawsuit is going forward.” Green, of Dripping Springs’ Green & Associates , did not return a telephone call seeking comment. [See "Former Texas Supreme Court candidate Rick Green files libel suit," Tex Parte Blog, April 20, 2011.]
