Public records with the Texas Ethics Commission show that lawyers representing Joshua Lafountain in his TMFPA suit against 71 different dentists and dental entities donated over $24,000 to the 2016 election and 2020 re-election campaigns of Judge Maricela Moore of Dallas Court District #162. Judge Moore is the trial judge in the Lafountain case.
Lafountain’s TMFPA lawsuit was originally filed in 2015, three years after Lafountain stopped working at Bear Creek Dental in Dallas. His only connection to the dentists involved is that they at one time worked at Bear Creek before opening their own practices. He made similar allegations of Medicaid fraud against Bear Creek in another TMFPA lawsuit but that case has not moved forward in Travis County district court. However, this particular lawsuit was filed in Dallas District Court and was unsealed in 2018 before Judge Moore’s court.
Lead fundraiser for election
Online documents show that the firm of Sommerman, McCaffidy, Quesada & Geisler held a high-powered fundraising event in August of 2016 at their offices to raise funds for then-judicial candidate Maricela Moore, a well known and respected Dallas corporate liability attorney. Moore had thrown her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for Dallas Court District #162 after the untimely passing of Judge Phyllis Lister Brown, the incumbent, in May of 2016.
The announcement of the fundraiser, still available online, contains a message from George “Tex” Quesada, one of Sommerman’s partners.
“Friends,
“Please come to our offices on August 25th to support Maricela Moore for 162nd Civil District Court. Maricela is the Democratic nominee and has an opponent in the general election.
“This is an important election to fill the seat left vacant by the unfortunate passing of Judge Phyllis Lister Brown. Maricela’s opponent has been campaigning since last year. It is critical that Maricela Moore have a well-funded and effective campaign in this election cycle.
“We are hosting an event at our offices and hope to see you.”
The announcement goes on to list the sponsorship levels and a list of legal sponsors who donated over $65,000, including $5,000 from the Sommerman law firm. The levels were $5,000 Platinum, $2,500 Gold, $1,000 Silver, $500 Bronze, $250 Copper, $100 Friend.
Jerry Alexander and Kyle Mandeville of the firm Passman & Jones, two more of Lafountain’s attorneys, donated a total of $3,000, according to the 2016 campaign records. Alexander was listed as a Silver contributor at this fundraiser.
The Texas Ethics Commission online search shows that Judge Moore (Filer ID 67618) raised over $193,000 in 2016 and 2017 for her successful election bid with campaign expenses totaling around $116,000.
Unusual decision
In August 2019, lawyers for the defendant dentists brought a motion to have the case dismissed because Lafountain and his lawyers had not produced any evidence other than allegations of wrongdoing based on open records requests filed after the lawsuit had been filed. Judge Moore denied the dismissal.
A later appeal court filing by the defense lawyers on her ruling stated that “at the hearing, the trial court asked for further briefing, including a summary from LaFountain’s (sic) counsel of the information supporting his claims against each Defendant group and the source of the information. Rather than filing and serving the requested information, LaFountain’s (sic) counsel submitted a “List of Information About the Defendants” in camera and refused to serve a copy on Defendants (emphasis TDMR). Without Defendants’ seeing the List, the trial court declared it to be work product but also allowed it to be considered. The trial court denied Defendants’ plea to the jurisdiction and motions to disqualify.”
The information apparently influenced the judge’s decision but the defendants were not provided the material.
The defense lawyers, as reported by TDMR, have recently filed a motion to again dismiss the case and for sanctions against Lafountain’s attorneys with her court which includes the request to see “the materials that Relator supplied to the Court in camera as support for his claims.”
Large donations for 2019/2020 campaign
Texas Ethics Commission records show that for Judge Moore’s re-election campaign, Sommerman partners and their firm have so far donated a total of $14,000 – $5,000 from the firm, $1,500 each from Andrew Sommerman, Tex Quesada and Sean McCaffity, now running for a U.S. Congressional seat, and another $1,500 each from their professional corporations. All three are listed as Lafountain’s attorneys on court documents. The majority of these funds were donated for a fundraiser in January.
By contrast, the only other attorney in their firm to donate to Judge Moore’s campaign is the well-respected Al Ellis who donated a total of $650, according to Texas Ethics Commission filings.
Jerry Alexander, Kyle Mandeville and their firm have so far donated $3,750, according to TEC records, with Alexander recognized as a Silver contributor at Judge Moore’s campaign kickoff event in June 2019.
All these large donations came from lawyers who have a case being heard in the judge’s court.
According to the Texas Ethics Commission Guidelines for Judicial Candidates and Officeholders, the maximum donation level for individuals in Dallas County is $5,000 for candidates for courts of appeals, district courts, statutory county courts, or statutory probate courts.
Judge Moore has so far collected over $430,000 in campaign contributions for her re-election bid according to Texas Ethics Commission records.
No check on such donations
It is a common practice for politicians to turn down donations from individuals who have cases before the courts to avoid the apparency of influence.
How about for judges who have individuals or their lawyers with cases before their court?
There is nothing specifically written about this in the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct nor the Campaign Finance Guide for Judicial Candidates and Officeholders.
The Texas Code of Judicial Conduct does state:
“A judge shall conduct all of the judge’s extra-judicial activities so that they do not:
(1) cast reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially as a judge; or
(2) interfere with the proper performance of judicial duties.”
and
A. A judge shall comply with the law and should act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.
B. A judge shall not allow any relationship to influence judicial conduct or judgment. A judge shall not lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others; nor shall a judge convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge. A judge shall not testify voluntarily as a character witness.
“Justice bought in Texas” is not a new refrain
Numerous media stories have been written over the years about the possible influence of political donations on the Texas judiciary. It is even a current topic in Newsweek and the NY Times – “Campaign Funds for Judges Warp Criminal Justice, Study Finds – Judges in Harris County, Texas, were far more likely to appoint lawyers who had donated to their campaigns to represent poor criminal defendants.”
The Texas Tribune earlier this year published a feature article – “Speaking statistically, this GOP donor wants to convince you that money buys justice in Texas – After losing a case at the all-Republican Texas Supreme Court, millionaire Salem Abraham set out to mathematically test the idea that campaign contributions influence the elected justices. Now he wants to change the system.”
Tom Phillips, a former chief justice on the Texas Supreme Court, a few years back told the Texas Tribune that “Of the ways you can elect judges, Texas has one of the worst systems.”
Judge has excellent background and references
Judge Maricela Moore is a respected attorney and judge. Her bio states that she “has more than 18 years of wide-ranging civil legal experience… Before becoming a judge, she was a partner in a boutique litigation firm, founded her own law firm that focused on employee rights and practiced complex commercial and employment litigation at Baker & McKenzie and Cowles & Thompson P.C. She was also a law intern with the Texas Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.”
In 2019, she was awarded Trial Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates, although this kudo is now missing from her campaign Facebook page. She has the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News and many other respected peers.
In her 2020 Ballotpedia Candidate survey, Judge Moore wrote “I am passionately interested in the legal and justice system. I wanted to be an attorney and a judge from a very young age because I have so much respect for the law and the civilizing influence it has on our society when it is properly administered by a fair, unbiased process. Throughout my career, I have defended the rights of individuals and sought justice. As a judge, fairness always comes first in my court.”
Fairness and the appearance of fairness is important for defendants and plaintiffs alike.