Colt Cabana sues CM Punk over legal fees

SHARE Colt Cabana sues CM Punk over legal fees
collage_e1533781617603.jpg

In a court document obtained by the Sun-Times, Colt Cabana, whose real name is Scott Colton, is suing CM Punk, whose real name is Phillip Jack Brooks. | Clayton Hauck and Eric Johnson for Sun-Times Media

After fighting together on the same side and winning a defamation lawsuit two months ago, Colt Cabana and CM Punk are now on opposite sides of a legal battle.

Cabana, whose real name is Scott Colton, is suing UFC fighter CM Punk, whose real name is Phillip Jack Brooks, for breach of contract and fraud in Cook County Circuit Court.

Cabana and Punk have close friends since their days in Chicago’s independent pro wrestling circuit.

Cabana’s lawsuit contends Punk promised to help him out with the legal bills they amassed fighting the defamation lawsuit. Cabana claims Punk told him in a text that he would be “100% covered.”

Punk has failed to keep that promise, leaving him with unpaid legal bills totaling $513,736, according to the lawsuit.

Punk asked Cabana to pay half of the legal fees, which comes out to $256,868, saying “You are on your own.”

Cabana is asking for $200,000 in general damages, along with $1 million in punitive and exemplary damages, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims “Brooks acted with fraud, malice and oppression toward Colton, with the deliberate intention of causing Colton harm.”

Cabana is the host of “The Art of Wrestling,” a podcast where he discuss issues surrounding wrestling, along having fellow pro wrestlers on the show as guests.

Punk, a former wrestler, was Cabana’s guest on an episode, where he addressed the litany of issues he had during his time with the WWE, most notably his issue with his medical treatment.

The former world champion addressed a misdiagnosis of a staph infection and wrestling in the immediate aftermath of a concussion.

Those accusations prompted Dr. Chris Amann, WWE’s ringside physician, to sue Punk and Cabana in January 2015. In the “Demand letter,” Amann’s attorney drafted a “cease and desist” order telling Colton to remove the podcast from any and all websites.

Two months ago, Cabana and Punk won the defamation lawsuit filed by Amann.

View this document on Scribd

The Latest
Bevy of low averages glares brightly in first weeks of season
Too often, Natalie Moore writes, we think segregation is self-selection. It’s not. Instead, it’s the end result of a host of 20th century laws, policies, ideas and practices that deliberately shaped our region, as made clear in a new WTTW documentary.
The four-time Olympic gold medalist revealed what was going through her mind in the 2020 Summer Olympics on an episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast posted on Wednesday.
We want to hear from diverse voices across the city.
The WLS National Barn Dance, which predated the Opry by two years, was first broadcast 100 years ago Friday, on April 19, 1924.