William Nelson, IV v. David Welch

TINDER, Circuit Judge.

This opinion addresses two separate cases, each involving disputes surrounding the bankruptcy of Repository Technologies, Inc. (“RTI”), a now-defunct software company. The parties interested in these disputes and their lawyers have been on a litigation death march since April 2006. They have passed through a bankruptcy court, three federal district courts, and two state courts (that we know of) before arriving here. As one might expect from such a barrage of litigation, untangling and resolving the issues presented takes some time and space, so bear with us.

Both cases…