Reynolds Frizzell attorneys Michael Oldham and Harris Wells, along with co-counsel Hogan Lovells, successfully defended two Texas-based real estate developers, John J. Griggs III and Cross K. Moceri of Presidium Group, in a case brought by XL Funding alleging claims under the Racketeering Influence and Corruption (RICO) Act. The case has been dismissed by a federal court for The Southern District of Florida.
Griggs and Moceri, who have extensive experience developing student housing and related real estate projects in Austin, Texas, entered into a venture with XL Funding and its principal Michael Fischer to engage in further property development. When the parties disagreed as to the capital contributions needed to move forward with the project, XL Funding brought an aggressive suit with unfounded allegations.
In dismissing the complaint, the federal district court denied Count II of the Amended Complaint with prejudice and without leave to amend, and gave the Plaintiff until May 7, 2021 to file a second amended complaint on the remaining counts admonishing the Plaintiff to “eliminate extraneous allegations, including acrimonious invective.”
On May 7, 2021, rather than filing the second amended complaint allowed by the court’s order, the Plaintiff filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, dismissing all its claims in the action. Immediately after the notice was filed, the court terminated and closed the case.
According to Oldham, “as we have stated from the outset of this case, we viewed it as meritless and are grateful the court has dismissed it.”