Ocwen obtains dismissal with prejudice of all claims in malicious prosecution lawsuit

Client(s) Ocwen Financial Corporation

In 2009, Jones Day was retained to handle a case brought against Ocwen Financial Corporation ("Ocwen"), one of its subsidiaries, and several of Ocwen's officers and directors relating to previous litigation filed by the Ocwen subsidiary against several businesses and individuals involved in an apartment complex in Arizona. The Ocwen subsidiary had filed three separate lawsuits in Texas, two in Arizona, and an adversary proceeding in bankruptcy against the same parties on roughly the same theories. (Jones Day was not involved in the prior litigation.) When those proceedings were decided against Ocwen, Ocwen and others were sued in Dallas for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, fraud, and other claims by the parties who had been sued in the earlier litigation. Plaintiffs claimed approximately $38 million in damages as a result of the prior suits. Through a series of summary judgment motions, Jones Day obtained dismissal of all claims against its clients. In response to Jones Day's motions, Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their tortious interference, fraud and negligence claims, and Dallas County District Judge Bruce Priddy ruled that the remaining claims -- for malicious prosecution, abuse of process and civil conspiracy -- failed as a matter of Texas law and therefore dismissed those claims with prejudice in late 2010, well before the close of discovery.

Stonegate Chandler Village Holdings LLC, et al .v. Howard Spector, et al., No. DC-09-14434 (Dallas Cty., Texas)