Bell Nunnally Secures Near-Total Dismissal of $184 Million Claim Against Tom Dundon as Jeffrey S. Lowenstein Named Litigator of the Week

Bell Nunnally represented Dallas-area financier and sports owner Tom Dundon, his private investment firm Dundon Capital Management (DCP) and a former DCP executive in the litigation, with K&L Gates serving as co-counsel for the defendants. The case arose from the abrupt shutdown and bankruptcy of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), with creditors seeking $184 million from Dundon, DCP and a former DCP executive. The suit, which dated to 2019, proceeded to a five-week trial spanning 78 days of proceedings. In a 199-page opinion, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Craig A. Gargotta of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Texas dismissed nearly all claims, awarding only $1 on a single claim and dismissing the remainder. The court concluded that the league’s collapse was driven by substantial liabilities that predated DCP’s involvement and found that Dundon and Zutter acted properly and in good faith in efforts to stabilize the organization. The decision therefore rejected the contention that either executive caused the league’s failure, instead finding both made significant efforts to preserve operations under difficult circumstances. Bell Nunnally represented Tom Dundon, Dundon Capital Management and a former DCP executive with a team composed by: Jeffrey S. Lowenstein (partner, litigation), Gwen I. Walraven, David G. Webster, Beverly A. Whitley, Troy "T.J." Hales and Laura K. Lavernia. K&L Gates represented the defendants as co-counsel with a team composed by: Brent Hockaday. The outcome and counsel’s work were widely reported in the legal and business press, and Bell Nunnally partner Jeffrey S. Lowenstein was named a "Litigator of the Week" for his role in securing the near-total dismissal. Lowenstein commented that Dundon had assembled a highly qualified team to try to turn the league around and that its failure occurred for reasons unrelated to the conduct of Dundon or his team.

Bell Nunnally Secures Near-Total Dismissal of $184 Million Claim Against Tom Dundon as Jeffrey S. Lowenstein Named Litigator of the Week

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