The Texas Fifth Court of Appeals has tossed defamation, business disparagement and conspiracy counterclaims brought by former GloriFi CEO Toby Neugebauer against investor J.I.G. LLC, a Rogge Dunn Group client. The panel dismissed the counterclaims under the Texas Citizens Participation Act, the state’s anti-SLAPP statute, finding that Neugebauer had not pled the specific facts required to make a prima facie case.
J.I.G. and other investors sued Neugebauer alleging they were fraudulently induced to invest more than $16 million in With Purpose Inc., which did business as GloriFi — a fintech startup that collapsed before completing a de-SPAC transaction valued at $1.7 billion.
Founding partner Rogge Dunn was quoted in Law360’s coverage of the ruling, telling the publication that the decision reinforces the strength of Texas’ anti-SLAPP law and that the counterclaims were an effort to deflect responsibility for GloriFi’s failure.
Read the full article at Law360: https://www.law360.com/appellate/articles/2514962/texas-court-wipes-ex-glorifi-ceo-s-claims-against-investor or the PDF Here.