June 1, 2004
Litigation partner Richard Mancino leads successful effort to disqualify federal judge overseeing various high-profile asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings because of an appearance of bias and partiality in his administration of the cases.
Litigation partner Richard Mancino led a successful effort to disqualify a federal judge overseeing various high-profile asbestos-related bankruptcy proceedings because of an appearance of bias and partiality in his administration of the cases. As reported in the May 18 editions of The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Daily Deal, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ordered the removal of U.S. District Judge Alfred M. Wolin from the Chapter 11 cases of Owens Corning, W.R. Grace & Co. and USG Corp. Mr. Mancino, who represents certain of W.R. Grace's creditors, argued that some of the judge's independent advisors were playing partisan roles in a separate, but similar asbestos-related Chapter 11 case, creating a conflict of interest that tainted Judge Wolin. The appeals court agreed that this perception of bias was sufficient to mandate recusal. The court also found that certain ex parte meetings the judge conducted with the tort claimants' lawyers and other parties, where no record was made for those who were absent, were flawed because "if the structural conflict of interests gave [the advisors] a motive to give Judge Wolin less-than-neutral advice, it was the ex parte meetings that gave them the opportunity." Mr. Mancino discussed the case in an interview in the July edition of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel. Mr. Mancino represents clients in a wide variety of litigation matters, including complex insurance and reinsurance disputes (including business interruption and property damage coverage cases), intercorporate and successor liability litigation, fraudulent transfer and bankruptcy related litigation, product liability, investment management and trade secret litigation.
