Federal Judge Durkin is not having any of the Tom Girardi BS. In December 2020 Edelson PC filed their lawsuit against Tom Girardi, Girardi Keese, Erika Girardi, and her companies, former Girardi Keese lawyers Keith Griffin and David Lira. That is the lawsuit that alleges a 20 million dollar loan from Girardi Keese to Erika Girardi, that the divorce was a shame and that the victims are widows and orphans. That same day Edelson PC also filed their Motion for Rule to Show Cause asking the court to enter an order; 1) requiring Girardi Keese to show cause why7 it should not be held in contempt for violating the Court’s orders relating to the settlement of [the six lion air client cases], and 2) granting any such further relief as it deems reasonable and just. The court seems focused on further relief after already holding Tom Girardi and Girardi Keese in contempt. At the end of three days of evidentiary hearings, the court asked the lawyers to further brief on “[d]o I have the power to order you to pay the clients not because you violated a court order but because in failing to come to me you caused the plaintiffs to lose that money”.

It seems that at least as to the Lion Air clients there are court proceedings moving forward strongly focused on how to make the clients, whose settlements weren’t paid too, whole. Remember, this is the Judge who forwarded this incident to Federal Prosecutors, and we know they have at least opened an investigation because Federal Prosecutors filed a motion asking the court for access to unsealed documents. What do you think will happen next?  

Key Take-Aways

• Federal Judge Durkin is focused on if he can sanction former Girardi Keese lawyers Keith Griffin and David Lira and possibly Edelson PC as a firm or its lawyers for not bringing issues with Tom Girardi not paying clients of the Lion Air case to the court.  
• Tom Girardi Exclusive Voice Mails
• Tom is heard over two voicemails left for attorney Jay Edelson after the filing of the Motion for Rule to Show Cause saying: “I’m a good guy, get along great with all the Judges, I can do some real good shit but I want to make sure that you know we’d be joined at the hip” and “I want to be in charge of all your shit and at the end of about nine months I want you to say ‘God Tom, you made me another Million’”. 
• During Testimony during Day 3 of the contempt hearing Jay Edelson testified that Tom Girardi had called him repeatedly after the Motion for Rule to Show Cause was filed and that Tom indicated he could make him a ton of money because of his connections with Judges in California, and that the whole thing was ‘beyond unseemly’.  

What Happens Next?

The lawyers for former Girardi Keese lawyers Keith Griffin and David Lira and the lawyers for Edelson PC will submit a briefing to the court about if the court can impose sanctions not for violating the court order, which Tom Girardi, has already been held in contempt for…but for not bringing it to the courts' attention sooner.  They will also be submitting a chart breaking down the Girardi Keese client IOLTA account to see what happened with the settlement money after Boeing funded the settlements in March 2020. Seeing what happened with that money will be very interesting.

The court will rule on the Sanctions and contempt. Sanctions may be possible, but contempt here is unlikely. 

The lawsuit filed by Edelson PC against the lawyers and Erika Girardi is still moving forward in Illinois and will continue forward into discovery.

And of course….Season 12 of Real Housewives will still feature Erika Girardi…

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