John Claude Brannan III

New York State Attorney General Letitia James is moving to quash two federal subpoenas, saying U.S. Attorney John Sarcone III lacked the power to issue them since his appointment, she argued, was not legitimate. The latest correspondence by James' team of attorneys that includes the national firm Munger Tolles & Olson, and Capezza Hill of Albany, notes that on Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential opinion that affirmed a district court's ruling that Alina Habba is "unlawfully" acting as the U.S. attorney for New Jersey. James' lawyers argue that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice "cannot use delegation powers to install a de facto U.S. Attorney indefinitely." At 11 a.m. Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Lorna Schofield is scheduled to hear arguments on the matter in Albany, limiting the hearing to whether Sarcone was improperly appointed, and if a determination in the affirmative invalidates the subpoenas should be invalidated. However, James' full motion makes other arguments for which the subpoenas should be quashed. Sarcone's subpoena demands all documents and communications related to civil cases pursued by James' office against the Trump Organization and the National Rifle Association of America. Meanwhile, the federal government is represented by Richard D. Belliss, an assistant U.S. attorney in Sarcone's office, who will argue that the AG's position "is irrelevant and wrong." Belliss makes that argument on the basis that Congress provided three methods for allowing someone to perform the duties of a U.S. attorney temporarily, to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of an office, until a Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney takes office. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi named Sarcone to a 120-day interim appointment, effective on March 17. When it expired on July 14, the court's Board of Judges declined to exercise its authority to appoint a U.S. Attorney. At that point, Daniel Hanlon was reassigned the Albany office's deputy U.S. attorney. The following day, Sarcone was appointed special attorney, as well as first assistant, which the government says allows him to serve as acting U.S. attorney under the default provision of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. "It is typically up to the President, or principal officers acting on his behalf, to decide which method is best suited to the circumstances, and those methods generally supplement each other," Belliss wrote. The subpoenas were issued in bad faith, and must be quashed because they unreasonably interfere with New York's sovereignty, James' lawyers say. James alleges the subpoenas a political retribution for her office's prosecution of the Trump Organization, which was found liable for inflating its assets by as much as $2.2 billion a year, and ordered to disgorge more than $350 million in unlawful profits. The state AG also investigated the NRA, resulting in two of its officers being found liable for financial wrongdoing and self dealing, and an order to enact governance reforms. Trump, who at the time of each prosecution was a private citizen between his first and second presidential terms, publicly called for James to be the criminal prosecuted as a result of her actions.

Dec 2

2 min

A law firm serving as outside counsel for the city of Nashville is entitled to the same qualified immunity status held by public officials, a federal appeals court ruled, delivering a blow to a former firm attorney who claimed in a First Amendment suit that he was fired because of his outside public service work. In a 2-1 ruling Monday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit said Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz was immune to the suit from former Baker Donelson attorney James DeLanis because it was working for Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, which allegedly pressured the firm to terminate him because of an action he took while chairing the city's election commission in 2020. “We know of no case in which the First Amendment prohibited a law firm from firing one of its lawyers when the business interests of the firm, including demands from one of its clients, triggered the firing,” Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton wrote in the opinion. DeLanis’ 2022 suit claimed his firing violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech after he served as chairman of the election commission when Nashville residents devised a ballot referendum to cancel a 2020 property tax increase. After a court said the referendum violated state law, unnamed city “officials” asked the law firm to convince DeLanis to reconsider his vote to appeal the ruling. The suit stated Councilman Robert Mendes tried to convince the firm to influence DeLanis, and the firm’s general counsel “asked" him to abstain from voting, which he declined. DeLanis then alleged city officials "pressured” Baker Donelson to fire him and it did so on June 25, 2021, according to his suit. He then filed suit against Baker Donelson, Mendes and the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. A federal district judge denied giving the firm qualified immunity because Baker Donelson “as a private entity, could not benefit from qualified immunity.” In his 18-page opinion, Judge Sutton wrote that “as DeLanis acknowledges in his complaint, Baker Donelson’s business interests drove its conduct.” “The firm, in his words, ‘sought to maintain and increase the client revenue it generated’ from Nashville ‘at all time relevant to the claims.’ We know of no free-speech case that covers this unusual setting, and DeLanis does not identify one himself.” Baker Donelson did not return a request for comment on the ruling. The attorney representing DeLanis, John I. Harris III of Schulman, LeRoy & Bennett in Nashville, said he planned to meet with his client Wednesday about further action on the lawsuit. "As noted by the dissent, the majority opinion appears to expand the scope of qualified immunity to circumstances not previously allowed,” Harris said in an email. The nine-page dissent by Judge Eric L. Clay said he believed the court’s majority erred in extending qualified immunity to a non-governmental entity—which he called “a significant departure in our longstanding jurisprudence.” “Baker Donelson does not perform a public duty or act ‘at the behest of the sovereign’ by firing plaintiff, especially since Baker Donelson’s sole motivation for plaintiff’s termination was its own private business interests,” Clay wrote. But Sutton wrote that, “Qualified immunity protects public officials and those serving the public from ‘the time, expense and risk of money-damages actions’ if they did not violate the claimant’s clearly established federal constitutional rights." “When private attorneys and law firms provide legal services to a government body, they also are eligible for qualified immunity in connection with that work,” Sutton wrote.

Nov 25

3 min

A Florida federal judge on Thursday dismissed disgraced insurance mogul Greg Lindberg's lawsuit seeking to pause enforcement of a $524 million arbitral award, saying Florida is the wrong venue for the dispute. U.S. District Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell granted Universal Life Insurance Co.'s bid to toss Lindberg's suit seeking to compel arbitration under a reinsurance agreement between ULICO and Lindberg's company, PB Life and Annuity Co. Ltd., because the agreement's choice of law provision states that Puerto Rican law governs. She also rejected Lindberg's argument that even if arbitration must happen in Puerto Rico, the Florida court could order arbitration there while retaining jurisdiction over the petition. That's not the approach that most courts have taken, she said. "Thus, this court will follow the majority approach applied by other courts in the Eleventh Circuit," Judge Honeywell said. "Under this approach, the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico is the correct venue for Lindberg to compel arbitration since Puerto Rico is the situs of the forum selection clause." ULICO won the $524 million arbitration award against PBLA in June 2020 after accusing Lindberg of misappropriating funds allocated to a trust as part of the reinsurance agreement with PBLA. After the award was not paid in time, ULICO filed a claim against Lindberg in the Middle District of North Carolina, which ruled in the insurer's favor. The Fourth Circuit later upheld the arbitration award. In August 2024, the Wake County Superior Court in North Carolina granted ULICO's request for a general receiver over Lindberg's assets to enforce the judgment. Lindberg has appealed that decision and filed his own lawsuit in November 2024 in Florida. In the Florida suit, Lindberg said the Fourth Circuit specifically affirmed that a guaranty agreement between Lindberg and ULICO meant that Lindberg was personally liable for the arbitration award against PBLA. But he said the appeals court "declined to address any of Lindberg's claims and defenses related to his satisfaction of the preliminary award and his satisfaction of his guaranteed obligations." He asked the Florida court to compel arbitration on those claims and defenses. The arbitration award dispute comes after a North Carolina federal jury found Lindberg guilty in May 2024 of trying to bribe the state's insurance commissioner by making campaign contributions in exchange for weaker oversight. Lindberg then pled guilty in November 2024 to certain criminal charges for lying to state insurance regulators and defrauding policyholders. Lindberg is represented by Michael G. Newell of Newell Law and Carl D. Berry of The Strategic Legal Group PLLC. ULICO is represented by John Sikes Gibbs III of Troutman Pepper Locke LLP. The case is Lindberg v. Universal Life Insurance Company, case number 8:24-cv-002602, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Nov 20

2 min

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday said that she has tasked Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton to helm an investigation into any ties between late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and prominent Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton. President Donald Trump, in a social media post on Friday, said he would order Bondi and the FBI to investigate any alleged links between Epstein and Trump’s perceived Democratic foes. Bondi announced Clayton would lead the effort in post on the social media site X. Earlier on Friday, Trump called on Bondi in a Truth Social post to investigate Epstein’s “involvement and relationship” with Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Larry Summers, entrepreneur Reid Hoffman, JPMorgan Chase bank, and other “people and institutions.” “Thank you, Mr. President,” she wrote above a screenshot of Trump’s directive. “Attorney Jay Clayton is one of the most capable and trusted prosecutors in the country, and I’ve asked him to take the lead. As with all matters, the Department will pursue this with urgency and integrity to deliver answers to the American people.” The public corruption unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York indicted Epstein on sex trafficking charges in 2019. Epstein died in what was declared a suicide before the case made it to trial. Prosecutors then indicted Epstein’s longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, on sex trafficking charges. Maxwell was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. No others were indicted in connection with those cases. Clayton’s path to U.S. Attorney was a rocky one. He was first nominated to the role by Trump in January, but then blocked by New York’s senior Democratic senator, Chuck Schumer. Danielle Sassoon was then appointed Interim U.S. Attorney, but resigned her role weeks later after she was instructed to dismiss the public corruption case against now-outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams. DOJ took over that case and Matthew Podolsky was elevated to Acting U.S. Attorney. Clayton was installed as interim U.S. Attorney in April and voted in as the court-appointed U.S. Attorney for the district in August. The former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Clayton had no criminal prosecutorial experience before taking the job. The SDNY has long enjoyed a reputation as an independent office, though some DOJ moves are seen as attempting to bring it to heel. Earlier this year, former Epstein and Maxwell prosecutor Maurene Comey was abruptly fired in July with no explanation given. Comey, the daughter of Trump’s perceived enemy and former FBI Director James Comey, has since sued over her termination. The SDNY on Thursday recused itself from the civil case, which is now being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York. That office is led by John Sarcone III, who the judges of the NDNY declined to appoint to the role of U.S. Attorney. The DOJ says he is serving as an “Acting U.S. Attorney” on unclear legal authority. Both Trump and Clinton are known to have socialized with Epstein during the early 2000s, as did many other politicians and celebrities. Trump has repeatedly said he broke off a friendship with Epstein after the dead financier hired away a young female staffer from the spa at Trump’s club, Mar-a-Lago. Clinton flew on Epstein’s private jet multiple times, according to flight records. Summers accepted gifts from Epstein while President of Harvard University. Hoffman has acknowledged meeting Epstein in a professional setting. In a statement, JPMorgan said it regrets its ties to Epstein, who was a client there for more than a decade. The bank was not aware of his “heinous acts,” it said. The Clayton assignment comes just days after a congressional committee released thousands of documents providing additional details about the relationship between Trump and Epstein. Trump amplified conspiracies around the Epstein case during his 2024 presidential campaign but has backed off since retaking the presidency. He has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein’s systematic trafficking and sexual abuse of minor girls. Emails released this week have cast doubt on that statement. In one email, Epstein wrote that Trump “knew about the girls.” It’s not clear what was meant by that statement. Bondi herself has come under fire for reneging on promises to release investigative material relating to the case. A spokesperson with the SDNY declined to comment. Representatives of Clinton, Summers and Hoffman did not immediately return messages.

Nov 14

3 min

Delaware's former interim U.S. attorney has been appointed acting U.S. attorney after the district court declined to keep her as the top federal prosecutor in the First State when her term expired. Julianne Murray is now serving as acting U.S. attorney, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Justice confirmed to Law360 Pulse on Thursday. Her term as interim U.S. attorney ended on Tuesday. Representatives for Murray did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly announced last week that the court would not select Murray to hold the full role of U.S. attorney after her time as interim U.S. attorney ended, in a brief notice that did not provide his reasons. Murray was managing partner of Murray Phillips & Gay PA — now Phillips & Gay — and served as chair of the Delaware Republican Party. She lost a race to become the Delaware attorney general in 2022 and was unsuccessful in 2020 in a race to become the state's governor. The move in Delaware follows a similar pattern playing out in other states around federal prosecutor appointments. A Third Circuit panel is currently considering whether the Trump administration's process for placing Alina Habba as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey — withdrawing her nomination to the Senate to be U.S. attorney and then appointing her both a special attorney and first assistant — complied with the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and the U.S. Constitution's appointments clause. A Pennsylvania federal judge ruled in August that Habba was unlawfully given an extension of her temporary post after her "interim" appointment expired. In Hawaii, U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright ruled in late October that the acting U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, was not lawfully serving in that role and disqualified him from remaining in it. Acting Nevada U.S. Attorney Sigal Chattah was disqualified in September from overseeing a handful of criminal cases after a federal judge determined she is "not validly serving as acting U.S. attorney" and that her involvement in the cases "would be unlawful." In July, the Northern District of New York declined to appoint interim U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III to the permanent seat in that district. And former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James are both attempting to get their separate criminal indictments thrown out on the ground that the appointment of interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan was invalid. Halligan's appointment came after the district's previous interim U.S. attorney had served for more than 120 days, in violation of federal law, both have argued.

Nov 13

2 min