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A Texas state judge on Thursday denied Arnold & Itkin LLP's bid to disqualify the law firm defending drilling rig owner Transocean Ltd. in litigation stemming from Hurricane Zeta. The decision came after Arnold & Itkin claimed that one of the defense lawyers, Karina Sanchez-Peralta, had worked as a law clerk at Arnold & Itkin in 2022 and improperly sent herself confidential information about the Hurricane Zeta litigation before leaving the firm.

The judge found that Arnold & Itkin had not shown any substantial connection between Sanchez-Peralta’s past work at the firm and the ongoing litigation. Harris County District Judge Rabeea Collier issued a brief order denying the disqualification motion, stating that Arnold & Itkin had not demonstrated that Sanchez-Peralta's prior work was substantially related to the current case. Furthermore, the judge noted that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that they would suffer any prejudice if disqualification was not granted.

Ahmad Zavitsanos partner John Zavitsanos expressed his approval of the decision, stating, "Above all, we are delighted that the name and character of our first-year lawyer was cleared by the court." He also commented that the disqualification motion was a tactic to divert attention away from more material issues in the case.

Counsel for the plaintiffs did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

The disqualification motion claimed that while Sanchez-Peralta worked as a law clerk at Arnold & Itkin in 2022, the firm had represented plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) concerning seamen’s claims related to Hurricane Zeta. The plaintiffs allege they were injured when Transocean forced them to keep their ship in the path of the storm when it hit the Gulf of Mexico in October 2020.

Arnold & Itkin alleged that Ahmad Zavitsanos recruited Sanchez-Peralta before her employment at the firm ended. She joined Ahmad Zavitsanos in September 2023 and became an attorney of record for Transocean in the Hurricane Zeta MDL in March 2024.

The plaintiffs argued that Sanchez-Peralta took confidential work product related to the Hurricane Zeta case in the final minutes of her employment at Arnold & Itkin. They also claimed that, according to her LinkedIn profile, she moved to Ahmad Zavitsanos and became a lead attorney on issues related to medical damages, witnesses, and records.

Arnold & Itkin further claimed that they only discovered the alleged violations after conducting an investigation into potential ethical and professional violations based on Transocean's actions in the media.

Ahmad Zavitsanos previously raised allegations in September regarding Arnold & Itkin's handling of medical costs for the plaintiffs. The firm contended that Arnold & Itkin had directed the plaintiffs to medical providers in Louisiana and Houston, even though none of the plaintiffs lived in those areas. Ahmad Zavitsanos alleged that the plaintiffs never received bills for their medical care, and instead, "middleman affiliates" associated with the providers were responsible for the payments.

In response to the disqualification motion, Ahmad Zavitsanos referred to it as an "illegitimate attempt" to avoid legitimate discovery related to the merits of the case.

The plaintiffs are represented by Caj Boatright, Roland T. Christensen, Kurt B. Arnold, J. Kyle Findley, and Alec J. Paradowski of Arnold & Itkin LLP. Transocean is represented by Shahmeer Halepota, Daryl Moore, John Zavitsanos, Kevin Leyendecker, Alfredo Montelongo, Michael Andrews, Karina Sanchez-Peralta, DJ Ringquist, Taylor Freeman, and Kelsi S. White of Ahmad Zavitsanos & Mensing, along with Bruce D. Oakley and S. Lee Whitesell of Hogan Lovells.

The case, In re: Hurricane Zeta Litigation, is currently being heard in the 113th District Court of Harris County, Texas.