On August 23, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a judgment based on their August 1 opinion in the case of In re Patrick L. McConathy et al., American Warrior, Inc. et al. v. Foundation Energy Fund IV-A, L.P. et al., Case No. 23-30529, in favor of the appellees, the bulk of whom were represented by Bradley L. Drell and Heather M. Mathews of Gold Weems.  The case involved the application of two important Supreme Court decisions, Ritzen Group, Inc. v. Jackson Masonry, LLC, 589 U.S. 35 (2020), and Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Bailey, 557 U.S. 137 (2009), to oil and gas litigation pending in Kansas, after one party to the litigation failed to disclose assets in its 1990 bankruptcy case. 

With millions of dollars at stake, Gold Weems protected the interests of non-debtor parties against American Warrior’s attempts to leverage the omission from the bankruptcy to obtain its preferred forum.  Gold Weems was successful in its efforts during three years of litigation in bankruptcy court, an appeal to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, and ultimately an appeal to the Fifth Circuit, where Mathews authored the appellate brief, and Drell argued the case.  The firm’s clients are now free to litigate their lawsuit in Kansas. 

The decision was also reported by Bill Rochelle, editor-in-chief of the American Bankruptcy Institute.  Click here for full article.  This case is one of many that demonstrates the Gold Weems Bankruptcy Team's ability to litigate complex matters at all levels of the federal courts.