Houston’s celebrity billboard lawyers are watching their partnership implode in public, as new court filings in Harris County pull back the curtain on an increasingly ugly split between attorneys Anthony Pusch and Chi‑Hung David Nguyen. Pages of text messages and purchase records surfaced during an emergency hearing this week, with Pusch’s side alleging that Nguyen bad‑mouthed his former partner, lined up a quiet loan from a former client to snag rival office space and may have misled the court. A judge has scheduled more proceedings next week while both camps fight over control of key evidence and the firm’s trademarks.
According to the Houston Chronicle, newly filed messages include a Feb. 16, 2025 text in which Nguyen wrote, "He's just a pos. I don't want to be around him," while also talking about putting his energy into an AI tech company instead of the law firm. Pusch’s legal team argues the texts also reveal Nguyen and his brothers working out a loan from former client Chassity Murray to buy property across the Gulf Freeway from the Pusch & Nguyen offices, and that those exchanges clash with earlier testimony that the purchase was funded by family investments.
At the April 8 emergency hearing, Pusch attorney Rodney Drinnon showed the court purchase records, including a charge for a Mac Studio on the firm’s American Express card, and told the judge, "Once again, he is lying to you," the Chronicle reports. Nguyen’s lawyers pushed to keep the texts confidential and out of bounds for trial, arguing that many messages contain privileged conversations with counsel. Judge Christine Weems said she was "concerned about the allegations on both sides" and set a follow‑up hearing for April 15.
A long‑simmering split
This fight did not materialize overnight. Pusch first sued Nguyen in mid‑2024, seeking roughly $1 million and accusing him of taking disproportionate compensation and committing other breaches. A judge granted a temporary restraining order last summer that limited Nguyen’s access to firm accounts, and the firm later quietly rebranded after Nguyen was ousted, according to Houston Public Media. Since then, the dispute has sprawled into battles over trademarks, domains and corporate control.
Trademark filings and court records
Filings at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s Trademark Trial and Appeal Board list Pusch & Nguyen Law Firm, PLLC and catalog the firm’s correspondence and claimed addresses. USPTO TTAB records show administrative steps in the trademark fight, while public appellate records indicate the state court docket has been abated at times as judges sort through jurisdictional and procedural issues. Court documents reflect an abatement order entered in January amid overlapping filings and appeals.
Legal implications
Pusch’s camp says the latest texts and purchase records do more than tell the story of a messy breakup, arguing they undercut sworn testimony and could support claims that false statements were made in court. Under Texas law, perjury and aggravated perjury fall under Chapter 37 of the Texas Penal Code, and criminal penalties are possible if prosecutors decide to pursue charges, although any such case would require a separate decision from law enforcement. For now, the immediate fight remains civil, centered on who controls the firm’s trademarks, how to treat property bought during the dispute and whether the contested messages will stay in or out of the evidentiary record.
What to watch next
Judge Weems has set the next hearing for April 15, when lawyers are expected to tangle over admissibility and discovery issues that could shape a looming summer trial. Court dockets and news reports point to a July 20, 2026 trial date to settle the core dispute over marks and assets, according to Yahoo News. If the judge lets the texts come in or if prosecutors take an interest in the allegations of false statements, the case could quickly grow far bigger than a typical law firm breakup.
