United States Sixth Circuit

In an interpleader action brought by tobacco companies against a number of attorneys, including defendants, to determine the proper recipients of four annual $125 million payments that the companies agreed to pay as part of an attorneys' fee agreement related to the 1998 tobacco settlement, an order overruling defendants' objections to other parties' claims to the proceeds of the settlement of the interpleader action is reversed and remanded where: 1) contrary to the ruling below, defendants were not judicially estopped from objecting to certain acknowledgments; and 2) a remand for further proceedings was proper.

Appellate Information

• Decided 11/13/2008
• Published 11/13/2008

Judges

• Before:  CLAY and COOK, Circuit Judges;  OLIVER, District Judge.

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellees:
  
• ARGUED:  John A. DeVault III, Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe, Jacksonville, Florida, for Appellants.  Thomas W. Hill, Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellees.   ON BRIEF:  John A. DeVault III, Patrick P. Coll, Bedell, Dittmar, DeVault, Pillans & Coxe, Jacksonville, Florida, William James Pohlman, Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellants.  Thomas W. Hill, Christopher J. Weber, Kegler, Brown, Hill & Ritter, Columbus, Ohio, Dale C. Christensen, Jr., John J. Galban, Seward & Kissel, New York, New York, for Appellees.