No. 19-789

Maghreb Petroleum Exploration, S.A., et al. v. John Paul DeJoria

Lower Court: Fifth Circuit
Docketed: 2019-12-20
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Amici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)
Tags: anti-retroactivity-provisions civil-rights constitutional-law de-novo-review due-process erie-doctrine federal-constitution foreign-judgment foreign-money-judgment judicial-review retroactive-application retroactive-legislation retroactivity texas-constitution texas-law texas-legislature uniform-foreign-country-money-judgments-recognitio
Latest Conference: 2020-04-24 (distributed 2 times)
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. Respondent John Paul DeJoria is a billionaire who co-founded a Moroccan company, was found liable in Moroccan court for defrauding Petitioners and ordered to pay $122.9 million in damages. After the Fifth Circuit in 2015 ruled against DeJoria in his attempt to avoid U.S. recognition of the Moroccan court's judgment, DeJoria lobbied the Texas Legislature to revise Texas's Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act to add new defenses and, in 2017, got the Legislature to apply the newly revised Act retroactively to allow him to defeat recognition. The first question presented is: Whether the retroactive application of the 2017 Texas Act violates the anti-retroactivity provisions of the Federal and the Texas Constitutions?

2. The district court granted DeJoria's motion to deny recognition of the Moroccan under the retroactively applied 2017 Texas Act. Texas law required the Fifth Circuit to review that judgment de novo and the Fifth Circuit applied de novo review in its 2015 decision. Yet the panel broke with established precedent in this case and applied the "clear error" standard of review. The second question presented is: Whether, under Erie, federal courts of appeal should apply the state-law standard of review in foreign country money judgment recognition cases.

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the retroactive application of the 2017 Texas Act violates the anti-retroactivity provisions of the Federal and the Texas Constitutions?

Docket Entries

2020-04-27
Petition DENIED.
2020-04-08
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 4/24/2020.
2020-04-03
Reply of petitioners Maghreb Petroleum Exploration, S.A., et al. filed.
2020-03-25
Brief of respondent John Paul DeJoria in opposition filed.
2020-02-13
Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including March 25, 2020.
2020-02-11
Motion to extend the time to file a response from February 24, 2020 to March 25, 2020, submitted to The Clerk.
2020-01-23
Response Requested. (Due February 24, 2020)
2020-01-21
Brief amici curiae of Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun and Othman Benjelloun filed.
2020-01-15
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 2/21/2020.
2020-01-10
Blanket Consent filed by Respondent, John Paul DeJoria
2020-01-06
Waiver of right of respondent John Paul DeJoria to respond filed.
2020-01-06
Blanket Consent filed by Petitioners, Maghreb Petroleum Exploration, S.A., et al.
2019-12-16
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 21, 2020)

Attorneys

John Paul DeJoria
Aaron Michael StreettBaker Botts, L.L.P., Respondent
Maghreb Petroleum Exploration, S.A., et al.
Geoffrey Lloyd HarrisonSusman Godfrey L.L.P., Petitioner
Miriem Bensalah-Chaqroun and Othman Benjelloun
Thomas WolfMiles & Stockbridge, Amicus