Adam Sinn filed an affidavit in Puerto Rico court stating that Patrick de Man: "[posted] on social media sites multiple negative statements and comments about Aspire, Aspire's counsel, and me."
His reference was to postings on LinkedIn™, which is really just one site (not the plural "sites"). More importantly, the "negative statements" referred to were all quotes from litigation involving, and mostly initiated by, Adam Sinn. Those statements were authored by lawyers based on their observations regarding Adam Sinn, et al. Court filings are public records, freely accessible and quotable for anyone willing to spend the time. By definition, posting such statements does not constitute defamation. Any potential harm caused by these statements is self-inflicted.
The collection of LinkedIn™ postings is shown below with links to the document from which the statements originated.
"Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters." (Albert Einstein)
Adam Sinn signed an agreement which stated that he as the "Buyer is an experienced and knowledgeable investor in the oil and gas business." After meeting him, executives of Matador Resources Company concluded that "Mr. Sinn had little or no experience in the oil & gas industry," and that "Mr. Sinn did not understand the oil & gas industry and had not read the relevant documents."
A frustrated attorney wrote: "Sinn’s conduct is entirely consistent with the contempt with which he has treated this litigation from the beginning. He continues to disregard the Rules and orders of this Court, apparently believing that none of them apply to him."
Sinn's general counsel Barry Hammond is an attorney described by a fellow lawyer as "not exactly living up to the highest standards of professionalism by upholding his middle finger instead of the dignity of the profession, as the rules require."
An observant attorney wrote: “The Rules notwithstanding, Sinn insisted that the deposition end by noon because he had to make a flight back to Puerto Rico, lest he put his tax evasion scheme at risk.”
Under penalty of perjury, Adam Sinn declared that he "moved [his] personal residence to Puerto Rico in 2013 as part of a tax-management strategy." To be eligible for tax incentives, he would have to be a Bona Fide Resident of Puerto Rico according to IRS Publication 570.
But a subpoena issued in 2016 shows that Adam Sinn "is represented to reside within 150 miles of the court house of Harris County, Texas." Mind you, it's about 2,000 miles from Houston to Puerto Rico and Sinn is very well aware of that fact.
Early 2017, Adam Sinn declared under penalty of perjury that in 2013 he moved to Puerto Rico "for tax reasons." However, court records show him as a Texas resident in 2014.
In Texas Court, he identified himself in the Original Complaint against Atlas:
"Plaintiff Adam Sinn is a natural person residing in Harris County, Texas" (July 17, 2014)
Defendants, however, were confused, and responded in their Answer and Counterclaim that Sinn is:
"residing in either Harris County, Texas or Puerto Rico" (August 18, 2014)
Not leaving any doubt about it, Plaintiffs' First Amended Petition affirmed that:
"Plaintiff Adam Sinn is a natural person residing in Harris County, Texas" (September 15, 2014)
Kevin Mohr of King & Spalding on what Adam Sinn has been up to in Puerto Rico: "They don't do any business in Puerto Rico. They just sit there because you can do the trading on a computer from anywhere."
Shocking: "The business is in Texas."
Adam Sinn's lawyer, Kevin Mohr of King & Spalding, is again downplaying the connection to the island: "the parties’ contacts with Puerto Rico are the fortuitous result of their relocation there in the middle of their relationship for tax reasons."
It would be instructional to browse IRS Publication 570.
I am not the lawyer here, but it seems that "fortuitous" contacts do not contribute to establishing a Closer Connection.
If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember your lies.
The Living Trust of Adam Sinn filed a Motion to Dismiss in Puerto Rico Court to contest jurisdiction, claiming "it is an irrefutable fact that the Living Trust does not have a presence or does business in our jurisdiction" (as translated from Spanish).
Interestingly, the Sinn Living Trust had already made its appearance in court just two months earlier.
Moreover, Adam Sinn had submitted as exhibit to Texas Court several documents related to hiring Brian Tyson. Those documents were signed by Sinn himself, on behalf of Sinn Living Trust, in Puerto Rico. Tyson, Jay Viswanathan, and Sinn's lawyer Kyle Carlton even flew down to the island.
A well-earned reputation for prevarication in litigation:
Adam Sinn and Eric Torres "both now admit that though they warranted and represented under oath that rights under the settlement agreement had not been assigned, Torres had in fact assigned his interest in the settlement agreement to Sinn."
"Torres and Sinn have each offered testimony at odds with other statements they have made under oath at different times when it suited their interests."
"In addition, Torres has admitted and Sinn has confirmed that they committed fraud in executing the Settlement Agreement."
A lawyer describes Adam Sinn's behavior in court: "Despite the fact that this Court has repeatedly compelled Sinn to participate in the litigation he filed, Sinn continues to refuse to be bothered to prove the allegations he makes."
When backdating documents for Adam Sinn, Kyle E. Carlton made it too obvious: "…the document purporting to be the 'Second Amended & Restated Partnership Agreement of Raiden Commodities, LP,' …, is dated July 30, 2013," and was executed by DocuSign e-signature in May of 2016, "when the First Amended and Restated Limited Partnership Agreement of Raiden Commodities, LP, was signed and dated on September 20, 2013" with an old-fashioned pen.
"Texas Super Lawyers Rising Star" Chanler Langham of Susman Godfrey, touted in his bio that he "recovered $8.4 million" for an investor, which was Adam Sinn.
Well, that was quite a feat, considering Chanler Langham substituted the original lawyer on the case in May of 2014; almost a year after Matador was instructed to, and claimed to have "returned every cent of the $8,686,244," which was the original investment by the partnerships owned by Sinn.
Makes me wonder what happened with the missing $286,244...
After this post appeared, Chanler Langham removed the reference to this case from his biography. The version available here was downloaded from his firm's website on January 27, 2018.
Adam Sinn's lawyer, Kevin Mohr of King & Spalding writes in the Appellants' Reply Brief: “Schedule K-1 tax forms provided by Aspire to Sinn and De Man show that Raiden is located in Puerto Rico.” Sorry, but no, Aspire tax forms have nothing to do with Raiden.
Astonishing.... copy/paste mismanagement: Kevin Mohr was quoting from my Appellee's Brief, which was correctly written as: "Schedule K-1 tax forms provided by Aspire to Sinn and De Man show that Aspire is located in Puerto Rico"