Lawyer Tony Buzbee must face $25 million defamation lawsuit, judge says

By David Thomas

Oct 1 (Reuters) - Prominent Texas lawyer Tony Buzbee has failed for now to defeat a $25 million defamation lawsuit brought against him by a Mississippi attorney he accused of soliciting his former clients to bring lawsuits against him.

US District Judge Vincent Brown in Galveston, Texas, ruled that Buzbee and his law firm must face the lawsuit from Marcy Croft, which grew out of litigation involving rapper Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter.

The judge denied a motion to dismiss the case, ruling that the court at this early stage of the case could "reasonably infer" that Buzbee made defamatory statements about Croft, who has represented Carter's entertainment company Roc Nation.

Buzbee said in an email that Croft's lawsuit is a "completely frivolous case and it will massively backfire on her."

Gregg Costa, a lawyer at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher representing Croft, said in a statement that they looked forward to "holding the defendants accountable for the reputational damage they caused to a distinguished and honorable lawyer."

The ruling marks the latest development in a multi-front legal battle spanning nearly two years. At its core was a lawsuit brought by Buzbee against Carter in Manhattan federal court on behalf of an anonymous plaintiff who claimed she was drugged and raped by Carter and Sean "Diddy" Combs when she was 13 at an afterparty for the 2000 MTV Music Awards. Carter and Combs denied the allegations, which the plaintiff later withdrew.

That lawsuit spawned other litigation from Carter against Buzbee in California state court, as well as a case Buzbee brought against Croft, Roc Nation and Carter's lawyers at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan in Texas, alleging that Croft used agents who solicited his former clients in order to bring claims against him. Both cases were dismissed.

Croft's defamation lawsuit in Texas cites social media posts by Buzbee and says his claims of illegal client solicitation were part of a "coordinated campaign to falsely accuse a well-respected attorney of criminal conduct." The lawsuit seeks at least $25 million in damages.

Carter has also sued Buzbee for defamation and malicious prosecution in New York federal court, after Buzbee's client dropped her lawsuit against the music stars last year. In that case, Carter claims Buzbee pursued rape allegations he knew to be false in the hopes of securing a payout. Buzbee, in court papers filed last month, countered that Carter was using the court system to harass both the alleged victim and her lawyers.

Last week, Buzbee's former client recanted her claim of rape against Carter and said she never met the billionaire rapper. She said she did not review the lawsuit against Carter before it was filed. Buzbee has asked a Manhattan federal judge to strike his former client's declaration.

"Everything that is being said by Carter's team is a lie and it will be proven to be a lie with documents and audio, and even video," Buzbee told Reuters.

Carter's lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In court papers filed on Monday, Carter said Buzbee and his firm "exploited Doe to pursue their own financial interests without investigating her claims and mental health issues."