A Texas lawyer loss out on attorneys’ fees in connection with a $750,000 settlement between his clients and musician A.B. Quintanilla III, after the state supreme court denied his petition for review.
David W. Showalter represented Alex and Rolando Ramirez, who were members of the cumbia group Kumbia Kings with Quintanilla, in a fight for a bigger cut of the profits after their success. Showalter sued Quintanilla for interfering with his fee agreement by offering a “covert settlement” that didn’t compensate him for the underlying lawsuit.
- Showalter didn’t have standing to sue Quintanilla because the claims were barred by the state’s anti-SLAPP law, as they were based on or in response to Quintanilla’s right to petition, the Texas Court of Appeals, Thirteenth District said in an October opinion.
- The lawyer argued in a petition to the Texas Supreme court that dismissal wasn’t proper because he presented enough evidence showing that Quintanilla acted in secret to settle the claims and cut him out of the settlement fees.
- A judge ruled Quintanilla committed fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in 2012, and he was forced to pay the Ramirez brothers $393,266 plus $65,000 in attorneys’ fees. Days after the ruling, Quintanilla filed for bankruptcy.
- Later, Quintanilla and his father Abraham, who owed Quintanilla money, reached a $750,000 settlement with the Ramirezes, which resolved all issues.
- The Texas Supreme Court denied Showalter’s petition Jan. 13, letting the appellate decision stand.
- Harris & Greenwell LLP represented Quintanilla. Griffin Purnell LLC represented the lawyer.
The case is Law Offices of David W. Showalter LLP v. Iron Tigga LLC, Tex., No. 22-1090, petition for review denied 1/13/23.