Surgeon Sues Former Fiancee for $73K Engagement Ring
Houston surgeon Craig Fischer is suing his former fiancée, Nichole L. Johnson, in an effort to recoup a $73,000 engagement ring plus money for a lease and wedding funds totaling $75,000, according to court documents.
The lawsuit, filed five days after the couple split, accuses Johnson of making defamatory remarks and seeks the return of a 4.06 carat diamond ring from Zadok Jewelers, $50,000 for a lease, and $25,000 from a joint checking account.
Unless Johnson "is ordered and enjoined by the Court from disbursing, diminishing or disposing the property," Fischer will have "no means by which to recover the property," the suit alleges.
It's a suit Johnson's attorney is calling completely frivolous.
"She agreed to square up financially, and agreed to give his ring back," said Tony Buzbee, an attorney at the Buzbee Law Firm.
But, within five days of the split, said Buzbee, Fischer filed the lawsuit while making arrangements for the return of the ring.
The proof is in a set of text messages, according to Buzbee. Before taking on the case, Buzbee said he read text messages between the two, with Johnson offering to return the ring numerous times but her former fiancé claiming he was in no shape to do the exchange.
The former flames met in April 2011 after being set up on a date by a mutual friend. In August, the pair was engaged and that's when things get a little murky.
The lawsuit alleges the "termination of the relationship was caused solely by" Johnson. Her attorney disputes that. "The reason that [Fischer] broke up with her is because she refused to go to some sort of counseling that he wanted to go to because she was out of town for work," said Buzbee.
In addition, Johnson's lawyer says the $25,000 bank account does not exist.
"That's made up," said Buzbee, who acknowledges the two had a joint account valued at $10,000, which they funded equally.
As for the $50,000 owed for a lease, Buzbee says the yearly rent was not paid in full.
"The two entered into a $4,000-a-month lease, and were jointly responsible," said Buzbee.
To make things fair, Buzbee said, Johnson agreed to pay $3,000 each month for the larger apartment the two decided to rent before the wedding, but asked Fischer to pay $12,000 (less than half of the annual obligation) toward the annual lease.
"He filed the lawsuit, contacted the press, and gave them a copy [of the suit], likely in an effort to embarrass Nichole," said Buzbee.
The suit was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.
"It's a damn shame that this guy acted this way and filed a lawsuit, knowing it was completely false and then leaked it to the press thinking it would make a sexy case," Buzbee told ABCNews.com.
Johnson, who works in the financial services industries, makes six figures and is not looking to take Fischer's money, said Buzbee.
However, Fischer paints a different story in court documents, alleging Johnson "never intended to marry" him and "used the relationships as a means to get to [Fischer's] money."
But, in a Houston Chronicle article Fischer told the newspaper, "She is gainfully employed, she's got a great job and makes a lot of money. It should not appear that I'm her 'sugar daddy.' She's my equal in every way."
Fischer declined to comment to ABC News.
In the suit, Fischer seeks a temporary restraining order, temporary injunction, and judgment against the defendant for all damages, among other things.
A call to Orlando & Braun, LLP, the law firm representing Fischer, went unreturned.
"The whole case is a farce filed by someone who is upset and trying to make Nichole look bad. He brought a knife to a gun fight, and this whole effort on his part is going to blow up in his face," Buzbee wrote in statement to ABCNews.
Buzbee, Johnson's attorney, said he plans to file something with the court to seek some severe sanction against the doctor and his lawyer for the suit.
The allegations are "easily demonstrated to be false and that's what's infuriating," said Buzbee.
What's more upsetting to the attorney is that anyone with "$150 can file a lawsuit and try to ruin someone," he continued.
"This is a complete misuse of the court system by someone who thought he could bully her," he said.
"We're going to hope there are ramifications for this behavior," added Buzbee.
