Yetter Coleman secured a complete dismissal for our clients, John P. Kotts and Bou-Matic, LLC, under the Texas Citizens Participation Act. The lawsuit commenced when Mickey Mills, who had served as our clients’ attorney for years, sued his clients for breaching an alleged oral agreement to pay him certain annual bonuses in exchange for his managing Bou-Matic.
The Court concluded that Mills’ breach-of-contract claim targeted our clients’ TCPA-protected rights. As a result, Mills had to come up with the TCPA-required clear-and-specific evidence establishing a prima facie case for each essential element of his claims to avoid dismissal. Moreover, Kotts and Bou-Matic argued that under the attorney discipline rules, Mills was required to obtain our clients’ written consent before entering into a business transaction with them. The defendants contended that Mills’ failure to do so rendered the alleged oral agreement contrary to the public policy of the state and unenforceable.
This was a great result in another hard-fought TCPA battle. The team includes co-counsel, Vidal Martinez, and Yetter Coleman attorneys Grant Martinez, Shane Pennington, and Collin Cox, who argued for the defendants at the TCPA hearing before Judge McFarland in the 133rd Civil District Court.