Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher, and Hughes Van Ellis, Sr. (“Survivors”), the last three known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, appealed to the Oklahoma Supreme Court requesting that the Court quickly reverse Tulsa County District Judge Caroline Wall’s unlawful dismissal of their lawsuit.

At a press conference at the Oklahoma Supreme Court, the Survivors’ legal team including Schulte Roth & Zabel pro bono attorneys, partner Randall Adams and associate Erika Simonson, discussed why they are confident that the Oklahoma Supreme Court will swiftly reverse Judge Wall’s decision.

“The facts of this case fit squarely within the common law property-based limitations that have shaped Oklahoma’s public nuisance statute for more than a century,” explains Damario Solomon-Simmons, lead attorney for Survivors and founder of Justice for Greenwood. “The District Court unlawfully imposed on Survivors a heightened pleading standard that has never been adopted by a court in Oklahoma. Survivors adequately plead a public nuisance claim pursuant to the definition provided by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in their recent decision in Johnson & Johnson on November 11, 2021.”

The District Court’s ruling in this case unlawfully requires a party alleging a public nuisance claim to plead the exact abatement remedy that the party thinks could cure the problem — before discovery, before trial, and before any determination of liability. “It’s an impossible pleading standard and it has no basis in Oklahoma’s notice pleading code or decisional law,” said Randall Adams, co-counsel for Survivors and litigation partner at Schulte.

Further, the District Court allowed the defendants to breach an agreement that they made in open court that they would not file new motions to dismiss the Survivors’ unjust enrichment claims. Not only did defendants move for a second time to dismiss the Survivors’ unjust enrichment claims, but also the District Court erroneously granted the meritless motions.

“It is important to recognize that if the Oklahoma Supreme Court allows Judge Wall’s decision to stand, it will become far more difficult for individuals and businesses across the state to vindicate their legal rights,” Mr. Solomon-Simmons said. “While this case carries historic significance for the Greenwood community that has been damaged and exploited for more than 102 years, the significance that the District Court’s holding would have on all Oklahomans seeking justice through the legal system cannot be overstated.”

ABOUT THE TULSA RACE MASSACRE

The Tulsa Race Massacre took place in 1921 when a mob of white individuals, deputized and armed by municipal and county officials, killed, looted, and burned down the Greenwood area. The Massacre resulted in the murder of more than 300 Tulsans and the destruction of the prosperous Greenwood neighborhood, often referred to as “Black Wall Street.”

ABOUT GREENWOOD

Greenwood, most revered for “Black Wall Street” was co-founded by Black Creeks — it became one of the most prosperous, organized, and successful Black communities in United States history, and a place for Black people to escape the political, economic, and social oppression of southern lawmakers post-civil war.

ABOUT JUSTICE FOR GREENWOOD FOUNDATION

Justice for Greenwood is a grassroots, 501(c)(3) organization with a big vision: to get Respect, Reparations, and Repair for the Greenwood community for the near century of historical omissions and continued harm caused by the 1921 Massacre, through survivor and descendant support, public education, and advocacy.

ABOUT SCHULTE ROTH & ZABEL

With a firm focus on private capital, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP (“Schulte”) comprises legal advisers and commercial problem-solvers who combine exceptional experience, industry insight, integrated intelligence and commercial creativity to help clients raise and invest assets and protect and expand their businesses. The firm has a long history as a leader in pro bono legal work and a legacy of contributing to the greater good. Schulte embraces its professional and moral obligations to seek justice through the legal system. The firm directly represents and empowers the most vulnerable and marginalized; brings impact litigation to fuel social change; and supports social entrepreneurs to form the next generation of mission-driven organizations that will advocate for the underserved.

RECOGNIZING OUR ACCOMPLISHED LEGAL TEAM

Damario Solomon-Simmons, Kym Heckenkemper, and Beatriz Mate-Kodjo of Solomon Simmons Law; J. Spencer Bryan and Steven Terrill of BryanTerrill, P.C.; Professor Eric Miller of Loyola Marymount College of Law; Maynard M. Henry, Sr.; Lashandra Peoples-Johnson and Cordal Cephas of Johnson Cephas Law PLLC; and Michael Swartz, Randall Adams, Sara Solfanelli, McKenzie Haynes, Erika Simonson, Ekenedilichukwu (Keni) Ukabiala, Theodore Keyes, Jill Guzzetti, Victoria Harris, and Melanie Collins of Schulte.

Schulte Roth & Zabel, The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma and Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have been waiting for over a year and a half for the Court to rule on its Preliminary Injunction in Black Emergency Response Team v. O’Connor. This action was filed in October 2021 and challenges an Oklahoma classroom censorship bill, HB 1775, which severely restricts public school teachers and students from learning and talking about race and gender in the classroom.

The lawsuit alleges that HB 1775 is an unlawful restraint on freedom of expression by silencing students’ and educators’ speech through its vague and overbroad terms. It also intentionally targets and denies access to equitable, culturally relevant teaching and ideas that reflect the history and lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; women and girls; and LGBTQ+ students.
The ability for educators and students to have honest conversations around race, gender, and our country’s history in schools carry particular importance in Oklahoma, whose history includes the 1889 Land Runs, “Indian” boarding schools, the 1921 Tulsa Massacre, and racially segregated schools.

With respect to the long delay in the Court deciding the Preliminary Injunction motion, The Norman Transcript spoke with Emerson Sykes, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, who commented, “The judge decided that no argument was necessary, and has not ruled on a single thing. There are pending motions on both sides … there has been no word from the court, no decision, no orders, no argument, no status conference, nothing.” Sykes added, “… because an injunction was not put in place, the law is in full effect, which is felt by students and teachers.”

The Schulte pro bono team is led by partners Doug Koff and Julia Beskin.

Read The Norman Transcript article.

Read about the filing.

Schulte Roth & Zabel is proud to support the New York City Asylum Application Help Center in helping migrants submit more than 1,300 asylum applications since the end of June. Schulte lawyers have volunteered to assist in the asylum application process and business staff have worked to send donations in support of the help center. 

Schulte was one of the private law firms recognized by New York City Mayor Eric Adams for working pro bono with the City to find a pathway forward for asylum seekers. 

Read the press release here. 

Schulte Roth & Zabel represented Kimmeridge, an alternative asset manager focused in the energy sector, in the final closing of Kimmeridge Fund VI and related vehicles. Schulte continues to advise the firm as they lead the industry in redefining the exploration & production business model and attract capital across a host of energy strategies.

In a deal announced today, Fund VI is 25 percent larger than Fund V (2018), and marks the first time Kimmeridge has offered a dedicated feeder fund for sovereign wealth funds and other non-US investors. The fund, which will identify, acquire and develop unconventional assets across top-producing basins in North America, received support from institutional investors, including endowments, foundations, public pensions, family offices and sovereign wealth funds.

The Schulte team advising Kimmeridge was led by partner Jason Kaplan and also included special counsel Daniel Daneshrad and associates Colin Conroy and David Isakov, all of the firm’s Investment Management Group, and partner David Wermuth and associate Jacob Gach of the firm’s Tax Group.