Eric D. Madden

Eric D. Madden is a partner with Diamond McCarthy who handles a variety of complex litigation matters. Based in the firm’s Dallas office, Eric represents clients in cases involving business fraud, director and officer liability, professional malpractice and shareholder derivative actions. He also has substantial experience in bankruptcy-related litigation and environmental litigation.

Among Eric’s cases are some of the largest bankruptcies in recent history. He currently represents the USACM Liquidating Trust in litigation claims arising out of the collapse of USA Commercial Mortgage Company, a commercial loan servicer with more than $950 million in outstanding loans. He also represented the post-confirmation trustee for LJM2 Co-Investment, LP, the Enron-affiliated partnership formerly run by Andrew Fastow.

Eric has also taken a major role in several high-profile cases. He served as lead counsel in a bench trial against a reputed member of the Gambino crime family that resulted in a $4.2 million judgment, and is part of the Diamond McCarthy team that represents a Philippine province in connection with environmental claims against a multi-national Canadian mining company.

From 2004 to 2011, Texas Monthly magazine named Eric as a "Rising Star" in business litigation.  Only the top 2.5% of Texas attorneys who are under 40 years of age or have been practicing law less than 10 years are awarded the distinction.

Eric is a frequent speaker, author and panelist on topics involving insolvency, creditor’s rights, and fiduciary duties.

Eric is admitted to practice in all state and federal courts in Texas, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Representative Cases

• Representation of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors of the Millennium Multiple Employer Welfare Benefit Plan, a purported section 419A(f)(6) plan with approximately $112 million in assets that the IRS has declared to be an abusive tax shelter.
• Representation of the USACM Liquidating Trust in connection with various litigation claims arising out of the collapse of USA Commercial Mortgage Company, a commercial loan servicer with more than $950 million in outstanding loans. Substantial claims against several of the company's former professional advisors were settled for confidential amounts. In addition, Eric served as lead counsel in a bench trial against a reputed member of the Gambino crime family, resulting in a $4.2 million judgment.
• Representation of the post-confirmation trustee for LJM2 Co-Investment, LP, the Enron-affiliated partnership formerly run by Andrew Fastow, in connection with claims against its former counsel, accountants, and investment bankers. The claims were settled for confidential amounts prior to filing suit and after mediation and/or substantial negotiations.
• Representation of a minority shareholder in a derivative suit filed in the Delaware Chancery Court, involving breach of fiduciary duty and other torts related to the misallocation of the $2.5 billion purchase price paid by Bacardi Limited to acquire the Grey Goose Vodka label. The action successfully settled for a confidential amount following the Court's issuance of a 58-page published opinion denying the defendants' motion to dismiss. See Bakerman v. Sidney Frank Importing Co., 2006 WL 3927242 (Del. Ch. 2006).
• Representation of the Chapter 7 trustee for Precept Business Services, Inc., a former NASDAQ-traded company, in connection with claims against its former officers, directors, and professional advisors, as well as preference claims against multiple defendants. See, e.g., Turoff v. Jackson Walker, LLP (In re Precept Business Services, Inc.), 2004 WL 2074169 (Bankr. N.D. Tex. 2004).
• Representation of taxpayers in connection with claims against major insurance companies and their agents related to the marketing and sale of abusive tax shelters. See, e.g., Kennard v. Indianapolis Life Ins. Co., 420 F. Supp. 2d. 601 (N.D. Tex. 2006); Cotner v. Hartford Life & Annuity Ins. Co., 2008 WL 59174 (N.D. Tex. 2008).
• Representation of the post-confirmation trustee for Agribiotech, Inc., a former NASDAQ-traded company, in connection with claims against its former officers, directors, and professional advisors.
• Representation of a Philippine province in connection with environmental claims against a multi-national Canadian mining company.

• 2011 Rising Stars Have Been Named
• 2010 Texas Rising Stars Are Named

• Eric D. Madden one of four panelists on Webinar, In Pari Delicto: What Are the Recent Cases Saying?, hosted by The American Bar Association

• Eric Madden and Brandon Lewis, co-authors of Cut to the Core: Distilling Recent Decisions Interpreting Stern v. Marshall - Part II, ABI Bankruptcy Litigation Committee Newsletter (November 2011)
• Eric Madden and Brandon Lewis, co-authors of Cut to the Core: Supreme Court Curtails Bankruptcy Court Jurisdiction in Stern v. Marshall - Part I, ABI Bankruptcy Litigation Committee Newsletter (September 2011)
• Eric D. Madden, one of four panelists on Webinar, In Pari Delicto: What Are the Recent Cases Saying?, hosted by The American Bar Association (December 10, 2010)
• Eric D. Madden speaker and author, Recovering from the "Bad Guys" and Their Advisors - Fiduciary Duties to Creditors, Deepening Insolvency, and In Pari Delicto, presented at Bankruptcy Institute 2007, sponsored by the Houston Bar Association (February 2007)
• Eric D. Madden speaker and author, Fiduciary Duties in Distressed Corporations: Avoiding Director Liability in the Zone of Insolvency, presented at the Northern District of Texas Bankruptcy Bench-Bar Conference (September 2006)
• Eric D. Madden co-author, Recovering for the Wrongful Death of a Company: A Dialogue on the Rights and Remedies Available to Victims of a Corporate Collapse, ATLA's Trial magazine (June 2006)
• Eric D. Madden, author, Keeping the Catch - Post-Confirmation Jurisdiction, presented at Bankruptcy Litigation: Advanced Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure Workshop, sponsored by the State Bar of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law (February 2006)
• Eric D. Madden speaker, Developing and Pleading Effective Causes of Action in Bankruptcy Cases, Bankruptcy Litigation: Advanced Pre-Trial Practice and Procedure Workshop, sponsored by the State Bar of Texas and the University of Texas School of Law (January 2005)
• James D. McCarthy and Eric D. Madden, speaker, Deepening Insolvency: Practical Reality and Emerging Legal Theory, presented to the Dallas Bar Association, Bankruptcy Section (November 2003)
• James D. McCarthy and Eric D. Madden, co-authors, Shareholder Litigation in the Shadow of Bankruptcy: The Low Priority Claimants' Search for Justice, presented at the Houston Bar Association Seminar "Lessons from Enron - The Issues We Face When Big Companies Fail" (April 2002)
• Eric D. Madden, author, The Voluntary Cleanup and Redevelopment Act: The Limits of the Kansas Brownfields Law, 46 Kan. L. Rev. 593 (1998)