By David Thomas

June 11 (Reuters) - A court in Houston has rejected claims by a pair of technology executives who alleged that a bankruptcy judge's romantic relationship with a former Jackson Walker lawyer impeded their ability to sue one of the law firm's clients.

U.S. District Judge Fred Slaughter on Tuesday agreed to dismiss a lawsuit against former Jackson Walker partner Elizabeth Freeman brought by Bardia and Bahar Dejban, a pair of technology executives. He gave the Dejbans until July 8 to file an amended complaint against Freeman and the law firm.

Attorneys for the Dejbans and Freeman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Jackson Walker declined to comment.

The Dejbans alleged they had been stymied from pursuing valid employment and tort claims against e-commerce company Volusion in California by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Houston who was overseeing Volusion's Chapter 11 proceedings. Jones threatened to sanction the Dejbans if they did not dismiss their claims against Volusion, a Jackson Walker client. The Dejbans later released Volusion of most of their claims as part of the final bankruptcy order in the case.

Slaughter held that the Dejbans' lawsuit was an "impermissible collateral attack" on the bankruptcy court's final order in the Volusion case. The Dejbans alleged that Jones' sanctions threats against them were "the product of collusion" between the judge and the defendants.

Jones, once the nation's busiest bankruptcy judges, resigned in October 2023 after acknowledging he had shared a home with Freeman, who left Jackson Walker in 2022 where she was a partner. The law firm has argued it acted responsibly in its handling of the relationship.

Jackson Walker is facing other lawsuits claiming the relationship harmed investors in companies whose cases Jones oversaw. The firm has moved to dismiss those cases.

The firm is also fighting an effort by the U.S. Trustee, the U.S. Justice Department's bankruptcy watchdog, to force Jackson Walker to disgorge all of the fees it was awarded by Jones. The law firm and the U.S. Trustee are awaiting a report from a U.S. bankruptcy judge that could affect several pending settlements Jackson Walker has reached with former clients.