As news of Judge Alex Kozinski’s swift retirement in the face of sexual harassment allegations emerged on Monday morning, talk quickly turned to what his decision to step down will mean for the Ninth Circuit and the larger legal community, Law.com reported. One thing seemed readily apparent: Kozinski’s move mooted the formal disciplinary proceedings set into motion last week when Ninth Circuit chief Judge issued an order Dec. 14. Chief Justice John Roberts had referred that matter out to the Second Circuit for an inquiry headed up by Second Circuit Chief Judge Robert Katzmann. Arthur Hellman, an expert on the Ninth Circuit and the federal judiciary at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, said Monday morning that since Kozinski had resigned, the statute that lays out that disciplinary framework for federal judges no longer applies to him. The special committee that was set to investigate Kozinski can’t impose any kind of discipline on him now that he’s left the judiciary.
New York hedge fund Elliott Management Corp. is eyeing the pile of professional bills Energy Future Holdings Corp. has paid, a mound that was near the $500 million mark in April and continues to accumulate, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Sunday, Elliott launched a campaign to get a seat on the official committee that reviews fees in the chapter 11 proceeding of Energy Future, the former TXU Corp. Earlier this year, the hedge fund became Energy Future’s largest creditor and launched an activist effort to push the three-year-old bankruptcy proceeding to a swift end. That end could come as early as next year, assuming Sempra Energy Inc. succeeds in buying Energy Future’s last remaining asset, an 80 percent stake in the electricity transmission business, Oncor. Elliott battled a $9 billion offer for Oncor from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy Co., holding the door open for Sempra — and a $450 million price improvement.
