HOUSTON – A Texas appellate court recently found that the Texas Citizens Participation Act does not apply to a fee dispute between the Diogu Law Firm and a former client.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit Diogu brought against Experience Infusion Centers. Diogu had represented EIC in a lawsuit against Aetna Life Insurance. However, EIC sought a change in representation and hired the Packard Law Firm.
Court records show Packard negotiated a settlement between EIC and Aetna. Diogu intervened, asserting a claim for 95 percent of the attorney’s fees, with only 5 percent going to Packard.
A federal court denied the intervention but placed the disputed attorney’s fees into the registry of the court. Afterward, Diogu sued EIC and its CEO Jim Rutherford in Harris County District Court in 2019.
EIC and Rutherford responded with a counterclaim, which Diogu sought to dismiss under the TCPA.
On April 7, the First Court of Appeals concluded the trial court did not err in denying Diogu’s TCPA motion.
“Because we conclude the TCPA does not apply to this fee dispute between a law firm and its former client, we affirm the trial court’s order denying the motion to dismiss,” the opinion states.
Appeals case No. 01-19-00494-CV