Patton Boggs received some unwelcome but hardly surprising news on Monday, when a judge allowed Chevron Corporation to pursue claims that lawyers at the firm made misrepresentations to judges and engaged in other misconduct while enforcing a $9.5 billion environmental judgment against the oil giant.
In a two-page order, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan gave Chevron permission to bring claims against Patton Boggs for fraud, malicious prosecutio, and deceit under New York Judiciary Law §487. (Chevron made its allegations in the form of counterclaims in an abuse of process case brought by Patton Boggs, so it needed judicial approval to proceed.) Kaplan rejected arguments by Patton Boggs that Kaplan doesn’t have jurisdiction over the firm.
