The lawyers at the Washington, D.C., boutique of Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck, Untereiner & Sauber have long been known for their strength in appellate work, but in recent years they’ve proven more than capable at trial as well. The most recent example came Tuesday, when the Fort Lauderdale federal bankruptcy court judge overseeing Chapter 11 proceedings for one of the country’s largest homebuilders ruled in favor of the unsecured creditors committee Robbins Russell represents. The 182-page opinion against a bevy of financial institutions could cost the bank defendants as much as $688 million, according to Bloomberg.
The case centered on a 2007 decision by the homebuilder, a company called Tousa, to borrow $500 million to settle litigation arising from a botched joint venture acquisition. As part of the loan agreements, Tousa granted its lenders — including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Citigroup — liens on assets of its subsidiaries.
