Chicago-based Edelson PC attorney Ryan Saba presented arguments to a federal judge in San Francisco earlier this month to transfer its racketeering lawsuit against Girardi Keese out of the Central District federal court in Los Angeles to the state's Northern District.
“Girardi Keese brought in Edelson as local counsel to help represent the families of victims of the Lion Air 610 crash in a lawsuit based in the Northern District of Illinois,” said Cayce Lynch, administrative partner for Tyson & Mendes.
Northern District of California Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley questioned the proposed move.
Lynch
| Tyson & Mendes
“If the Edelson case is transferred to the Northern District, the Los Angeles parties would have more difficulty litigating the case,” Cayce said. “It appears the majority of parties and witnesses are located in the Central District.”
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, Girardi was ordered by the California Supreme Court to pay $2.2 million-plus 10% interest to four minor children of Lion Air flight 610 crash victims from whom it was determined he stole money. However, the 83-year-old disgraced attorney is currently under court-appointed guardianship.
“Edelson is concerned if the case is not tried in the Northern District that the Lion Air victims may not recover appropriate actual and punitive damages for their injuries,” Lynch told the Southern California Record.
Girardi’s former colleague, Jay Edelson, blew the whistle after it was discovered in 2020 that Girardi Keese had not distributed settlement funds fully to Lion Air plaintiffs despite having received the money from Boeing, according to media reports.
Although in June he was charged with 14 counts of law violations, ethics rules, and acts of moral turpitude for allegedly robbing clients of millions of dollars in large settlement cases, Girardi was once celebrated for securing the highest medical malpractice judgment statewide as a recent law school graduate in the 1960s.
“There are concerns that Girardi’s popularity and reputation as one of the country’s most connected attorneys might influence the case outcome,” Lynch said. “He was known to have close relationships with judicial officers and influential lawyers.”
Girardi also is the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Erika Jayne who initiated a divorce in 2020.
“Girardi is a prominent LA figure,” Lynch added. “It is possible the Los Angeles jury pool may be biased given the celebrity pull of Tom Girardi and his ex-wife Erika Jayne.”