The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that Scott “Colt Cabana” Colton has filed a lawsuit against Phil “CM Punk” Brooks for “breach of contract and fraud” after the two won a defamation lawsuit against WWE physician Chris Amann.
The lawsuit focuses on the legal fees that added up after the two were found not guilty in the lawsuit brought by WWE physician Chris Amann. The 15-page lawsuit explores the initial beginnings of the defamation lawsuit filed by Dr. Amann, with Cabana alleging that Punk told him initially to not respond to the lawsuit when he was first contacted.
When Amann filed the lawsuit against both Cabana and Punk, Punk promised to help him out with any kind of legal fee that would add up saying he would be “100% covered.” The legal fees during the course of the defamation lawsuit amassed to $513,736. Punk reportedly requested Cabana pay half of the fees, totaling $256,868.
The lawsuit states “Brooks acted with fraud, malice and oppression toward Colton, with the deliberate intention of causing Colton harm” and telling Cabana “you are on your own.”
An April 2016 email written by Punk and distributed by Loeb & Loeb was provided in the 15-page lawsuit, with Punk providing harsh words for Cabana.
Excerpt courtesy of PWInsider:
“To date I have spent $513,736 dollars on this Amman lawsuit. My outstanding bill is at least 300K. Half of all this is yours. Divide the 513,736 by 2 that is what you owe me and what I expect you to pay me. Starting now, I will no longer be paying your bills. You are on your own. Whatever my bill is currently, will be cut in half and half will be yours. If you choose to make this all ugly, that’s fine too. I hope you won’t, but I gave up on you doing what is right a long time ago.”
It should be noted that Cabana was forced to hire his own legal representation during the Amann trial after he split ties with Punk’s representation (Loeb & Loeb) in March 2017. Cabana’s new representation (Ashman & Stein) sought out a reimbursement of $200,000 after the court victory, but were told Punk and his team refused to comply.
While never confirmed, the belief among many for some time now was that Cabana and Punk had a falling out as close friends. This lawsuit seems to confirm the rumors.