Chief Judge Colm F. Connolly has referred David R. Bennett of Direction IP Law to “his bar’s disciplinary counsel” given that the record in cases filed in the District of Delaware by Swirlate IP LLC, a plaintiff tied to Texas monetization firm IP Edge LLC, “is very clear that [Bennett] never obtained the informed consent of Swirlate to file and settle lawsuits on its behalf”. Judge Connolly has also expressed the intention to refer the matters filed by Backertop Licensing LLC, another IP Edge-linked plaintiff, to the US Department of Justice, indicating that although the court views Backertop’s sole owner, Texas paralegal Lori LaPray, “to a large extent” as “a victim in this case”, he will only reduce a $53K civil contempt fine (for failure to appear in person before him) to a judgment that he will now bring “to the attention of the Department of Justice” for enforcement because it would be a “terrible message to the folks at IP Edge” to do otherwise.