In a striking development in the bankruptcy litigation surrounding MMA Law Firm, a Houston bankruptcy court has ordered Morris Bart, LLC, the well-known New Orleans plaintiffs’ firm, to turn over any communications it had with U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael B. North of Louisiana. The ruling, handed down by Chief Judge Eduardo V. Rodriguez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, raises serious ethical and procedural questions in the high-stakes fee dispute between Morris Bart and MMA.
The Dispute: Where It Began
The demand for disclosure stems from a bitter fight over attorney’s fees in the Chapter 11 case filed by MMA Law Firm (formerly McClenny Moseley & Associates). MMA filed for bankruptcy in April 2024. Morris Bart, which has taken over a substantial portion of MMA’s former tort and mass-tort caseload, has been locked in litigation with MMA over how much of the settled case proceeds it is entitled to…