Justin A. Lollman, Andrew J. Hofland, and John D. Russell have been named the recipients of the 2023 Maurice Merrill Golden Quill Award by the Oklahoma Bar Association. The award is presented annually to an attorney or group of attorneys who have authored the best-written article published in the Oklahoma Bar Journal.
Each candidate is evaluated on 12 indicators of peer recognition and professional achievement, and selections are made on an annual, state-by-state basis.
BPX, Zurich American, and others sued Cameron International Corporation in Oklahoma state court for more than $65 million in connection with work that Cameron performed on an oil and gas well in DeWitt County, Texas. Cameron removed the case to federal court, even though Cameron and BPX were both citizens of Texas, claiming that BPX had been fraudulently joined as a plaintiff in an improper attempt to destroy diversity jurisdiction. BPX and Zurich American filed a Motion to Remand arguing, among other things, that the doctrine of fraudulent joinder did not apply to plaintiffs like BPX and Zurich American. The Honorable Charles B. Goodwin of the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma agreed with BPX and Zurich American, noting the “pragmatic reasons to limit application of the fraudulent joinder doctrine to defendants and the absence of Tenth Circuit authority concluding that extension of the doctrine to plaintiffs is appropriate.” Therefore, Judge Goodwin concluded that federal jurisdiction did not exist and remanded the lawsuit back to Oklahoma state court.
Congratulations to BPX Operating Company and Zurich American Insurance Company for their successful Motion to Remand. BPX and Zurich American are represented by John Sullivan, Rob Robertson, and Brian Tully.
GableGotwals is pleased to announce that Zoe E. Butts has joined the Firm as Of Counsel in the Oklahoma City office, focusing on complex civil and business litigation.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to approve several amendments to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, including promulgating a new guideline at §4C1.1, entitled Adjustments for Certain Zero-Point Offenders, thus paving the way for more lenient sentences for certain nonviolent, first-time offenders.
GableGotwals is pleased to announce new associates have joined the Firm in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
Best Lawyers® in America has named 8 GableGotwals attorneys to the 2024 “Lawyer of the Year” list. Only a single lawyer in each practice area and designated metropolitan area is honored as the “Lawyer of the Year,” making this accolade particularly significant. These lawyers are selected based on particularly impressive voting averages received during the peer-review assessments.