5th Circuit Keeps Alive Battle Over Jenkens’ Ownership of House
The disbanded law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist is winding down its affairs following a probe into its tax shelter practices, but litigation over its ownership of a home isn’t over yet.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sent the dispute back to a federal judge to determine whether a former client willfully failed to respond to Jenkens’ suit to determine ownership of the property, Texas Lawyer reports. U.S. District Judge David Hittner had issued a default judgment in the case after the ex-client, Ingrid Felderhof, failed to appear.
Felderhof gave her home to the law firm as part of a $1 million retainer agreement. She contends the law firm was merely a caretaker of the property and had agreed to return it after her fees were paid. She sought to set aside the default judgment after it was entered against her.
The appeals court said Hittner had not made any findings with regard to Felderhof’s willfulness or the merit of her asserted defenses. “While Ms. Felderhof was not the model of a properly responsive defendant, we cannot say that this sparse record requires a court to find her default willful,” the appeals court said in its Aug. 26 opinion (PDF).
