DALLAS – Attorneys from the Dallas complex litigation boutique Bailey Brauer PLLC defeated a motion by TracFone Wireless Inc. to enforce an injunction filed against two mobile phone resellers. Named partners Clayton Bailey and Alex Brauer and of counsel Ben Stewart were hired the day before Thanksgiving and took the case to trial only a week later. “We may not have had a traditional Thanksgiving this year, but we were highly motivated to prevent TracFone from obtaining a court order that would have been a massive overreach against our clients,” Mr. Bailey says. “Had TracFone won, our clients could have been held in contempt, possibly jailed, and forced to pay damages and attorneys’ fees – all for buying mobile phones that weren’t even listed in the injunction.” TracFone Wireless Inc. v. Vicki S. Brooks and Mohamed A. Mohamed was originally filed in 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas. In the lawsuit, TracFone claimed that Ms. Brooks and Mr. Mohamed bought TracFone mobile phones in bulk, unlocked them to alter the software code so that other providers’ airtime could be loaded onto the phones, and then resold them. A default judgment was entered in September 2008 against the two defendants, along with an injunction prohibiting them from buying any TracFone products in the future. The case was dormant until earlier this year, when Ms. Brooks and Mr. Mohamed were allegedly seen buying TracFone products. TracFone then filed a motion to reopen the case and enforce the 2008 injunction by holding Ms. Brooks and Mr. Mohamed in contempt and awarding TracFone damages and attorneys’ fees. The two defendants appeared without an attorney at a preliminary hearing in November and

DALLAS, Dec. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Attorneys from the Dallas complex litigation boutique Bailey Brauer PLLC won a court battle over the filing and payment of back taxes for Buffet Partners L.P., the former parent company of Furr's Cafeteria. In a Dec. 17 ruling, Judge Harlin DeWayne Hale of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas ordered Atlanta-based Chatham Credit Management III LLC (CCM) to file and pay Buffet Partners' 2013 and 2014 taxes and preparation expenses, the combined total of which could be as much as $130,000. In April, CCM purchased the assets of San Antonio-based Buffet Partners, including Furr's Cafeteria, just two months after Buffet Partners filed for bankruptcy protection. Shortly after, CCM resold the same assets to Arizona-based Fresh Acquisitions LLC, which has since rebranded the Furr's franchise as Furr's Fresh Buffet. Although the purchase agreement between CCM and Buffet Partners required CCM to file Buffet Partners' tax returns and pay the taxes and preparation expenses, CCM repeatedly refused to do so, says Bailey Brauer named partner Alex Brauer. He represents Buffet Partners Holding Co. LLC (BPHC), which owns Buffet Partners and its general partner, Buffet G.P. Inc. BPHC did not file bankruptcy and participated solely as the equity interest holder of Buffet Partners and Buffet G.P. "Chatham Credit's purchase and immediate asset resale left Buffet Partners without the resources necessary to wind up their corporate affairs, including filing and paying their taxes," Mr. Brauer says. The situation was complicated by the fact that Chatham Credit is an affiliate of Chatham Capital Partners Inc., which holds the vast majority of Buffet Partners’ debt and essentially controls the company. "Chatham Capital has used its unique position to maximize its own recovery

Firm News - December 2014 The attorneys at Bailey Brauer obtained successful outcomes for several clients over the past quarter, including two notable examples. Defeating federal contempt allegations: Bailey Brauer was hired on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to represent two individuals at a show cause hearing the following week. The defendants were facing contempt charges for allegedly violating a federal injunction. Attorneys Clayton Bailey, Ben Stewart and Alex Brauer, and Paralegal Brynn Long sprang into action over Thanksgiving weekend in preparation for the upcoming hearing. The federal magistrate judge found not only that our clients did not violate the injunction, but also that Bailey Brauer’s legal arguments carried the day and the injunction was unenforceable as written. Obtaining resolution of Furr’s Cafeteria bankruptcy issues: Within 90 days of being retained, Attorneys Ben Stewart and Alex Brauer obtained a favorable ruling in federal bankruptcy court requiring the investment fund controlling the bankrupt entities to pay administrative expenses and address outstanding tax issues. The ruling benefited limited partner investors represented by Bailey Brauer and allowed them to avoid potential tax liability. Is Your Injunction Enforceable? Injunctions are court orders that govern a party’s conduct. The most common form of injunction prevents a party from taking certain actions. An example is an injunction that prevents a person from buying or selling certain products. This is the type of injunction recently faced by two of Bailey Brauer’s clients. Because injunctions are orders issued by state or federal courts, they can be very powerful weapons. However, injunctions must meet certain requirements to be enforceable. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65 and Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 683 govern injunctions. They require, among other things, that the injunction: (a) state the