For the second time this year, Houston trial lawyer Chi-Hung David Nguyen has lost his representation as he continues a tense legal back-and-forth with former partner Anthony Pusch.
Last week, attorneys at Houston firm Murphy Ball Stratton filed a motion to withdraw as Nguyen's counsel. That includes Nguyen's lead counsel Garland "Land" Murphy as well as Eugene Zilberman, Christian McGuire and Matt Reed. The attorneys wrote that they were dropping out of the case due to what they said was Pusch's failure to pay Nguyen his share of his former firm's profits. Judge Christine Weems ordered those payments under the terms of a temporary injunction filed in October.
Without them, Murphy and his co-counsel essentially implied that they were not getting paid.
"The Chi Nguyen Defendants have been given reasonable warning that Counsel will have to withdraw unless these obligations are fulfilled," the attorneys wrote in their Sept. 4 motion. "Given the circumstances, the representation will result in an unreasonable financial burden on Counsel."
Per the motion, Nguyen consented to the withdrawal. The motion has yet to be granted as of Tuesday. Neither Murphy nor Nguyen responded to a request for comment. Nguyen did not designate new counsel.
Murphy's withdrawal is the second time this year that attorneys representing Nguyen have dropped out of the case, and at least the third time since the case was first filed in 2025.
In March, attorneys at Houston firm Beck Redden LLP similarly withdrew as Nguyen's counsel but gave no reason for the departure. Murphy Ball Stratton was substituted in March and took over the case not long after. And in September 2025, while still retaining the services of Beck Redden, attorney Joseph Little with the Little Law Firm withdrew from the case. No reason was given.
Murphy's seven-month run as Nguyen's lawyer came as several explosive accusations roiled the case. In April of this year, filings submitted by Pusch's legal team alleged that Nguyen disparaged Pusch and committed perjury. Text messages between Nguyen and his brother, obtained from a computer purchased by Pusch & Nguyen, showed the two Nguyens securing a loan from a former client to finance a new law firm, all the while attempting to conceal it from Pusch.
The texts about the loan contradicted Nguyen's previous statements to the court about how he purchased property across the Gulf Freeway from the Pusch & Nguyen offices. Nguyen had previously said he had received money from family. Nguyen admitted to the false testimony in May. In a June ruling, Weems wrote that she had referred Nguyen to the Harris County District Attorney's Office for investigation after she said he had "consciously" worked to deceive the court and Pusch.
In a filing dated Aug. 28, lawyers for Pusch reasserted that they are seeking more than $1,000,000 in damages and relief and are requesting a trial by jury. Per filings signed by Weems in July, both Pusch and Nguyen must complete all discovery in the case by January of next year. A trial date is tentatively set for February 2027.
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This article originally published at Attorneys drop out of Houston lawyer Nguyen's case for second time this year.