Justin L. Joffe

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Monday to review a Mississippi law that allows state election officials to count ballots that arrive up to five days late as long as they're postmarked on or before Election Day, in a case that could impact voting practices nationwide. The justices granted Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson's petition for certiorari challenging the Fifth Circuit's determination that the state's law on late-arriving mail-in ballots was preempted by federal statutes that establish a uniform, nationwide Election Day. A three-judge panel held in October 2024 that federal statutes governing the election of the president, vice president and members of Congress bar the counting of ballots received after "the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November." Mississippi is one of 16 states, along with the District of Columbia, that currently allow late-arriving mail-in ballots to be counted as long as they're postmarked by Election Day, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Most states require ballots to arrive within 10 days of Election Day, but Washington state has the longest grace period, 21 days. Watson argued in his June petition for review that while "reasonable people" can argue over whether late-arriving ballots should be counted as a policy matter, there is no dispute that the Constitution leaves that choice up to the states. The defining characteristic of an election is an individual voter's selection of a candidate and submission of the ballot, no matter when state officials receive it, he said. "As a matter of plain meaning, an 'election' is the conclusive choice of an officer," Watson said. "Voters make that choice by casting — marking and submitting — their ballots by election day. The election has then occurred, even if election officials do not receive all ballots by that day." Other administrative functions, like the receipt and counting of ballots, can occur and often do occur in the days following Election Day, he added. Watson said the Supreme Court suggested as much in its 2020 decision in Republican National Committee v. Democratic National Committee, which stayed a federal judge's preliminary injunction that extended the deadline for casting mail-in ballots in Wisconsin's primary election due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Extending the date by which ballots may be cast by voters — not just received by the municipal clerks but cast by voters — for an additional six days after the scheduled election day fundamentally alters the nature of the election," the court said in a per curiam emergency docket order. The Fifth Circuit panel fundamentally misread federal statutes as requiring ballots to be received by state officials by Election Day in order to be valid, Watson said. The appellate panel, which was composed entirely of appointees of President Donald Trump, pointed to a separate emergency docket ruling issued later in 2020 to support its conclusion that an election is only "consummated" when state officials receive all the ballots, which must occur on Election Day. In the second emergency docket case, Democratic National Committee v. Wisconsin State Legislature, the Supreme Court declined to implement a Wisconsin federal judge's order extending the state's deadline for voters to return mail-in ballots for the presidential election due to the pandemic. Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurrence, "To state the obvious, a state cannot conduct an election without deadlines." "Congress statutorily designated a singular 'day for the election' of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors," the Fifth Circuit panel said in striking down Mississippi's law. "Text, precedent and historical practice confirm this 'day for the election' is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials." The Republican National Committee, the Mississippi Republican Party and the Libertarian Party of Mississippi all unsuccessfully opposed Watson's petition for certiorari. Historical election practices prove that the lawmakers who wrote the election statutes intended both the casting and receipt of ballots to be completed on the same day, they argued. The RNC and state Republican Party chided Watson in an August response brief for asking the court to draw a line that was "unknown" by the drafters of the federal statutes. The receipt of ballots is an essential part of conducting an election, the Republicans said. That was the consensus for the nation's first 100 years and should be the law now. "The states' unbroken, uniform, decades-long practice of ending ballot receipt on election day is strong evidence that the practice was part and parcel of conducting an 'election,'" they said. The Libertarian Party added in its own response brief that the fact that Congress established a narrow exception to the receipt deadline for overseas mail-in ballots under various pieces of legislation proves that receipt of ballots by Election Day is the norm. "The Election Day statutes established the time in which 'the combined actions of voters and officials meant to make a final selection of an officeholder' must occur." the party said. "They necessarily displaced state authority to modify or alter (even slightly) Congress' deadline." Watson is represented by Scott G. Stewart, Justin L. Matheny and Anthony M. Shults of the Mississippi Attorney General's Office. The RNC is represented by Gilbert C. Dickey, Thomas R. McCarthy, Cameron T. Norris and Conor D. Woodfin of Consovoy McCarthy PLLC. The Libertarian Party of Mississippi is represented by T. Russell Nobile, Robert D. Popper and Eric W. Lee of Judicial Watch Inc. The case is Watson v. Republican National Committee et al., case number 24-1260, in the Supreme Court of the United States.

Nov 10

4 min

Kirkland & Ellis is advising specialty property insurance provider GeoVera Insurance Holdings, Ltd. on the sale of GeoVera MGA to managing general agent SageSure. The sale includes the underwriting operations of GeoVera MGA’s best-in-class residential earthquake franchise. The transaction was announced April 9, 2024 and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to the receipt of required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Read the transaction press release The Kirkland team is being led by corporate partners Mark Fennell and Justin Joffe; debt finance partners Jocelyn Hirsch and Whitney Bosworth; and tax partner Polina Liberman.

Apr 9

1 min

Law360 (September 8, 2025, 4:29 PM EDT) -- A real estate developer, his associates and his current and past attorneys submitted fake contracts as evidence of their ownership of the company that runs the Miss America pageant in a $500 million lawsuit and should face sanctions, the plaintiffs — who allege they're the rightful owners — told a Florida federal judge Saturday. Robin Fleming, chief executive officer of the pageant, said in Saturday's motion for sanctions that she acquired the pageant and its assets from the Miss America Organization in late 2022, and that real estate developer Glenn Straub and his associates were not part of the deal. Straub, Craig T. Galle, Kathleen A. Fialco and Palm Beach Polo Inc. and their prior legal counsel submitted a pair of fake operating agreements for the Miss America companies that were passed off as copies of originals created by Straub in December 2022, the plaintiffs said, adding an assertion that current counsel continues to stand by the agreements. The motion asserts that those purported operating agreements submitted to the federal court should be "null and void," alleging that Galle created them in April 2024 and backdated them to Dec. 28, 2022, and passed off as authentic. "After plaintiffs pressed defendants in discovery to produce the native files for these two documents, defendants' new counsel recently admitted that there are no native files — and that the two documents at issue are of recent fabrication and backdated," Saturday's motion for sanctions states. "In other words, the documents are fraudulent." The motion does not identify the attorneys by name. But according to court documents, William R. Clayton, Miguel Aristizabal and Riley F. Kennedy of Clayton Trial Lawyers PLLC filed the operating agreements as part of their answer to Fleming's complaint. Clayton, Aristizabal and Kennedy asked to withdraw as counsel, and a federal judge terminated them as counsel in an order on June 27. Defendants' counsel Todd A. Levine and Terri Meyers, of Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL, withdrew the operating agreements as evidence and struck part of an amended counterclaim, according to a notice filed Friday. The defendants have filed a counterclaim of fraud in the inducement, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims. Saturday's motion says that the defendants' prior counsel seemed to have acted intentionally and in bad faith. The motion alleges that Straub and Galle have provided the allegedly false documents in multiple court proceedings, including this suit, which was removed from state to federal court. Galle created the false documents "just days before Straub brought the state action for the purpose of wresting control of the Miss America Companies from Ms. Fleming." "Because these were the primary documents upon which Straub relied for his claim of ownership of the Miss America Companies, the misrepresentations in each instance were material," the motion for sanctions states. "In so doing, Straub and Galle committed fraud against Ms. Fleming and upon this court (as well as against the state court, the bankruptcy court, and the New Jersey court), unreasonably and vexatiously multiplying the proceedings." Defendants' counsel Todd Levine, of Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL, told Law360 Pulse that the request for sanctions "has no merit" and they plan to oppose the request in a response. When asked why they withdrew the agreements and struck parts, Levine said that the new legal team for the defendants thinks "those documents and the references to them are unnecessary to the counterclaim and we were trying to avoid unnecessary motion practice in the case." "Moreover, we will be amending the answers, affirmative defenses, and counterclaim," Levine said. This sanctions motion comes after Straub and his associates unsuccessfully tried to have Fleming's counsel disqualified. U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in April denied Straub and his associates' motion to have Carlton Fields disqualified from representing Fleming and MAO IP Holding, finding that such a move is extraordinary and that the allegations are "scattered and speculative." Counsel for the plaintiffs declined to comment Monday. Robin Fleming, Miss America IP Inc., Miss America's Scholarship Foundation Inc. and MAO IP Holding Co. LLC are represented by Benjamin G. Chew, Camille M. Vasquez and Jessica N. Meyers of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP, and Gene Rossi, Justin L. Chretien, Bruce J. Berman and Natalie Napierala of Carlton Fields. Glenn F. Straub, Craig T. Galle, Kathleen A. Fialco and Palm Beach Polo Inc. are represented by Todd A. Levine and Terri Ellen Tuchman Meyers of Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL. The case is Robin Fleming et al. v. Glenn F. Straub et al., case number 9:24-cv-81507, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. –Additional reporting by David Minsky. Editing by Amy French. Update: This article has been updated with additional comments from the defendants' counsel. For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

Sep 8

4 min

Law360 (September 26, 2025, 4:02 PM EDT) -- A real estate developer and his attorney have hit back at claims they should be sanctioned for allegedly submitting fake contracts as evidence they own the company that runs the Miss America pageant, asserting in a Florida federal court filing that their litigation opponents are the ones "engaging in fraud." In a response brief filed Tuesday, developer Glenn F. Straub and attorney Craig T. Galle argued that a sanctions motion was "recklessly filed" earlier this month by Robin Fleming and several Miss America entities "wrongfully" accusing Straub and Galle "of perpetuating a fraud against plaintiffs and this court." "The parties agree on one thing: this case is predicated on fraud," Tuesday's response says. "However, it is plaintiffs and their counsel — not defendants — that are engaging in fraud." Straub and Galle say that Fleming, the Miss America entities and their counsel "have unequivocal knowledge that Fleming is not, and has never been, the owner" of Miss America and the related entities named as plaintiffs in the litigation. In the sanction motion, Fleming and the Miss America entities accused Straub and his current and past attorneys of submitting fake contracts as evidence of their ownership of the company that runs the pageant. Fleming contends she acquired the pageant and its assets from the Miss America Organization in late 2022, and that Straub and his associates were not part of the deal. On her LinkedIn profile, she lists herself as CEO/owner of Miss America. Specifically, Straub, Galle and their former counsel submitted a pair of fake operating agreements for the Miss America companies that were passed off as copies of originals created by Straub in December 2022, the motion alleges, adding an assertion that their current counsel continues to stand by the agreements. The motion asserts the purported operating agreements submitted to the federal court should be "null and void." Galle stripped the "fabricated documents" of metadata in April 2024, and they were then backdated to Dec. 28, 2022, the motion alleges. However, they were not "genuine, true and correct copies" of originals, Fleming and the Miss America entities asserted. "As such, they are fraudulent," the motion says. According to court documents, William R. Clayton, Miguel Aristizabal and Riley F. Kennedy of Clayton Trial Lawyers PLLC filed the operating agreements as part of their answer to Fleming's complaint. Clayton, Aristizabal and Kennedy asked to withdraw as counsel, and a federal judge terminated them as counsel in June. Defendants' counsel Todd A. Levine and Terri Meyers, of Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL, withdrew the operating agreements as evidence and struck part of an amended counterclaim, according to notice filed earlier this month. The defendants have filed a counterclaim of fraud in the inducement, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty and other claims. When asked why they withdrew the agreements and struck parts, Levine said that the new legal team for the defendants thinks "those documents and the references to them are unnecessary to the counterclaim, and we were trying to avoid unnecessary motion practice in the case." Straub and Galle's Tuesday filing says the same, that they were withdrawn "to avoid unnecessary motion practice." But plaintiffs and their counsel are still pushing a "spurious" sanctions motion "and have continued with their crusade to prejudice the court against Straub, Galle," Straub's business, Palm Beach Polo Inc., and one of its employees, who are also named as defendants in the litigation, Tuesday's filing argues. Straub and Galle say the sanctions motion is "improper and meritless," and are asking the court to instead impose sanctions on Fleming, the Miss America entities and their counsel for "bad faith and vexatious litigation tactics." They ask for attorney fees and other sanctions. Fleming and the Miss America entities filed the $500 million racketeering suit in November 2024, accusing Straub of fraudulently pushing the organization into bankruptcy in an effort to take over its assets. The parties had battled over the ownership issue in bankruptcy court on the day before Fleming filed suit. In Febraury, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks denied the bulk of Straub and the other defendants' attempt to escape a fraud and racketeering lawsuit. In April, Judge Middlebrooks rejected Straub and his associates' motion to have Carlton Fields disqualified from representing Fleming and the Miss America entities. Counsel for Fleming and the other plaintiffs declined to comment beyond their motion. Counsel for the Straub, Galle and the other defendants didn't immediately respond Friday to a request for comment. Robin Fleming, Miss America IP Inc., Miss America's Scholarship Foundation Inc. and MAO IP Holding Co. LLC are represented by Gene Rossi, Justin L. Chretien and Bruce J. Berman of Carlton Fields, and Benjamin G. Chew, Camille M. Vasquez and Jessica N. Meyers of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Straub, Galle, Palm Beach Polo Inc. and Kathleen A. Fialco are represented by Todd A. Levine and Terri Ellen Tuchman Meyers of Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL. The case is Fleming et al. v. Straub et al., case number 9:24-cv-81507, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. –Additional reporting by Tom Lotshaw, Carolina Bolado, David Minsky and Emily Johnson. Editing by Amy French. For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.

Sep 26

4 min

The plaintiffs in a Florida federal court battle over the ownership of the Miss America pageant have pushed back against a sanctions bid against their attorneys, saying the court should reject it because it's "wholly meritless." Plaintiff Robin Fleming filed an opposition Monday in her case against defendants Glenn F. Straub, a real estate developer; Palm Beach Polo Inc. and its comptroller Kathleen A. Fialco; and attorney Craig T. Galle. She accused the defendants of having a pattern of filing "frivolous or bad-faith" motions. Fleming and the Miss America entities filed a $500 million racketeering suit in November 2024, accusing Straub of fraudulently pushing the organization into bankruptcy in an effort to take over its assets. The plaintiffs filed a motion for sanctions in September, accusing Straub and his current and past attorneys of submitting fake contracts as evidence of their ownership of the company that runs the pageant. The defendants hit back in a response arguing the plaintiffs are actually the ones who are "engaging in fraud." They said the first sanctions motion was "recklessly filed," and it "wrongfully" accused Straub and Galle "of perpetuating a fraud against plaintiffs and this court." Last month, the defendants returned fire with their own motion for sanctions, largely citing documents they say prove Straub is the owner of the Miss America entities. "Although the majority of Fleming and plaintiffs' counsel's filings are unnecessarily verbose and suggest complex issues, the central issue of this case upon which all of plaintiffs' claims revolve is very straightforward: Who owns the Miss America companies and their assets?" the defendants said in their motion to dismiss motion. Fleming's argument Monday centered around Federal Rules of Civil Procedure Rule 11, which justifies sanctions when a party filed a pleading that has no reasonable factual basis. Sanctions can also be given when a party filed a pleading that is based on a legal theory unlikely to succeed or in bad faith for an improper purpose, according to the response. Fleming said the defendants' motion fails to establish that she did any of those three things. For example, Fleming said the defendants have not established that she has no reasonable factual basis for her ownership claims and that they allege that there is no genuine dispute of material fact regarding ownership. However, each of the transaction documents is signed by Fleming on behalf of the buyer entities and none are signed by Straub. Additionally, Fleming's name alone appears on the buyer entities' formation documents, she said. Secondly, the defendants have not established an absence of a legal theory under which Fleming's ownership claims could "reasonably prevail." That's because depositions and discovery have not yet been completed, Fleming said. "Defendants have presented no admissible evidence or argument to counter Ms. Flemings' legal theory of ownership … for the acquisition of [Miss American Organization] and its assets. Instead, defendants simply state there is no reasonable legal basis for her claims, without supporting the assertion with argument or admissible evidence," Fleming said. Lastly, the defendants can't prove Fleming filed any pleading in bad faith or with an improper purpose, she added. "Defendants present no argument or evidence to support a claim of improper purpose. Instead, defendants simply state that Ms. Fleming 'could not have a substantiated belief that the allegations … are well grounded in fact, are legally tenable, or are not interposed for an improper purpose,'" Fleming said. Robin Fleming, Miss America IP Inc., Miss America's Scholarship Foundation Inc. and MAO IP Holding Co. LLC are represented by Gene Rossi, Justin L. Chretien and Bruce J. Berman of Carlton Fields, and Benjamin G. Chew, Camille M. Vasquez and Jessica N. Meyers of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP. Straub, Galle, Palm Beach Polo Inc. and Kathleen A. Fialco are represented by Todd A. Levine and Terri Ellen Tuchman Meyers of Kluger Kaplan Silverman Katzen & Levine PL. The case is Fleming et al. v. Straub et al., case number 9:24-cv-81507, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Dec 2

3 min