Contempt Citation Issued For Failing to File Suit Before Same Judge.
As reported to Martha Neil in her article “Billionaire Stanford & His Lawyers Held in Contempt Over Legal Fees Suit” as published on December 16, 2009 on the ABA Website, U.S. District Judge David Godbey issued a contempt citation against billionaire/defendant R. Allen Stanford and his counsel for filing an attorney’s fees collection suit against Lloyd’s to collect under a directors’ and officers’ insurance policy. The apparent basis of the citation was that Mr. Stanford and his counsel violated a prior court order that all related disputes should be filed with District Judge Godbey, even though the Lloyd’s suit was apparently filed elsewhere in Texas federal court. Lloyd’s earlier had agreed to pay a limited amount of defense costs, although it is relying on the “dishonesty/criminal acts” exclusion among others to support a likely coverage denial decision.