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Fee-hungry ex-lawyer puts settlement of $30 million Ashli Babbitt lawsuit at risk, court filing says

The Maryland attorney who three years ago dropped Aaron Babbitt as a client in the shooting death of his wife on Jan. 6 is endangering a final settlement of the $30 million wrongful-death lawsuit between Judicial Watch Inc. and the U.S. Department of Justice, an attorney told a District of Columbia federal court on May 19.

Terrell N. Roberts III, who walked away from the case in February 2022, rejected an offer to set aside 25% of any financial settlement in a dedicated trust account while the issue of what fees, if any, Roberts is owed is determined in arbitration by the Attorney Client Arbitration Board of the District of Columbia Bar.

'We are representing Ashli’s family pro bono!'

“Plaintiffs are concerned by Mr. Roberts’ role in this case, which is frustrating completion of the settlement,” said Judicial Watch attorney Robert Sticht, who represents Aaron Babbitt of San Diego and the estate of his late wife, Ashli Babbitt.

Roberts wants U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes to decide the issue of attorney fees, arguing that arbitration could take six months. He also wants the judge to revisit her rejection of a charging lien against the settlement.

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The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, claimed May 19 that the settlement agreement is for less than $5 million. Parties in the suit would not comment on the news story or the alleged amount. The Post reported incorrectly that Judicial Watch and Washington, D.C., attorney Richard Driscoll would take one-third of any settlement.

“I can say, contrary to initial WPOST report, @JudicialWatch is not getting a third (or any portion) of any settlement,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton posted on X. “We are representing Ashli’s family pro bono!”

Sticht now looks prophetic, as he tried to caution the news media against reporting that Judicial Watch would reap a windfall in the case.

Sticht was chastised and silenced by Judge Reyes at a May 12 hearing when he tried to announce to the press listening on the court’s audio feed that Judicial Watch will take no fees from the Babbitt lawsuit.

“This is crazy, and it is costing a lot of money,” Sticht said of the delays caused by the fee dispute. “And just so the court knows, for the record and all the press who may be on the telephone, Judicial Watch does not a get fee out of this settlement.”

Photo (left): John Sullivan; Photo (right): Aaron Babbitt

Judge Reyes talked over Sticht and chastised him for speaking directly to the media.

“Mr. Sticht, did I not just tell you that when I start talking, you stop?” Reyes snapped.

Roberts represented Babbitt from shortly after Babbitt’s wife was shot to death Jan. 6 by U.S. Capitol Police Lt. Michael Byrd. Roberts abandoned the case in late February 2022 but has still been seeking up to 40% of the financial settlement being negotiated by Judicial Watch. Babbitt was left to find new legal counsel after Roberts fired him as a client “for cause.”

Judicial Watch agreed to be bound by the decision of the arbitration board. Driscoll, who represents Aaron Babbitt for the narrow issue of the fee dispute with Roberts, filed for D.C. Bar arbitration May 9. He said now that Babbitt has asked for arbitration, both parties are required to take part under bar association rules.

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, 25% is the maximum fee allowed for all plaintiff attorneys combined.

Sticht said because “the likelihood of Mr. Roberts recovering such a fee is minimal, at best, given his admittedly brief and limited involvement in the legal matter,” the 25% set-aside “protects Mr. Roberts for an inability to recover an award.”

“Mr. Roberts rejected plaintiffs’ offer,” Sticht wrote in the court filing.

Roberts sought a charging lien from the court against the gross amount of any settlement. Judge Reyes rejected the idea, but allowed Roberts to be an intervenor in the case for the limited purpose of keeping tabs on settlement developments.

Roberts said if he is compelled to participate in arbitration, he will ask Judge Reyes to issue a stay in the lawsuit until the issue of attorney’s fees is settled.

Aaron Babbitt with his late wife Ashli, who turned 35 three months before she was killed on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol. Photo courtesy of Aaron Babbitt

“As a fundamental matter, arbitration is not an efficient option at this juncture,” Roberts wrote to the court. “The process could take up to six months (if not more). That is too long given that we are a hair’s breadth from a settlement. The court could more practically handle the matter of attorney’s fees in a fraction of the time it would take to arbitrate the case.”

Sticht said that idea “goes well beyond the limited intervention the court permitted.”

“Mr. Roberts presents no justification for why the court should reconsider these issues,” Sticht wrote.

Roberts’ attempts to cash in on the lawsuit have added drama and frustration to an already tense courtroom atmosphere. Since the first hearing on the lawsuit on Aug. 6, 2024, Judge Reyes has repeatedly lost her temper with Sticht, shouting at him to “stop talking” and accusing him of giving “snide” answers to her questions.

Brian Boyd, a DOJ trial attorney, said in the filing that the government supports the proposed 25% set-aside because it “is sufficient to protect Mr. Roberts’ interests.”

Boyd said Judicial Watch’s agreement to abide by the arbitration panel’s decision “and disperse [sic] to Mr. Roberts that portion of the set-aside funds that ACAB determines Mr. Roberts is owed, if any, should eliminate Mr. Roberts’ concern regarding his ability to collect fees to which he is entitled.”

Trial in the $30 million lawsuit is set for July 2026. The election of President Donald J. Trump last November vastly changed the DOJ’s demeanor toward the case and pushed the government toward a settlement.

In the years since Babbitt was killed, President Trump has expressed support and sympathy for the Babbitt family while ripping Lt. Byrd as a “thug” and a “coward.” The president expressed his belief that Ashli Babbitt “was murdered.”

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