Development Specialists, Inc. v. Peabody Energy Corp.

OPINION & ORDER

PAUL A. ENGELMAYER, District Judge.

This case involves a dispute over lobbying work done, first by the law firm of Coudert Brothers LLP (“Coudert”), and later, after Coudert’s bankruptcy, by the law firm of Baker & McKenzie LLP (“Baker”). This lobbying, done on behalf of various American coal companies, ultimately helped secure an act of Congress that resulted in substantial tax refunds for these companies. In this lawsuit, which arises out of Coudert’s bankruptcy proceedings, plaintiff Development Specialists, Inc., the Plan Administrator in Coudert’s bankruptcy, claims that…