Troutman Sanders Beats Reality TV Host’s Suit Over Film Dupe

Troutman Sanders LLP won dismissal of a one-time reality television host’s allegations that the law firm and some of its partners caused him to lose millions of dollars by failing to conduct due diligence into a film production investment opportunity that turned out to be a scam, according to an Illinois appeals court rulng.

Bill Busbice Jr., former host of “Wildgame Nation,” sued the firm in Illinois state court in 2019, alleging he hired Troutman Sanders to investigate the investment. According to the complaint, a group of co-conspirators approached Busbice and introduced themselves as experienced film industry insiders with opportunities to invest in three upcoming feature films.

Busbice initially invested around $5 million before hiring Troutman Sanders to investigate that investment and to perform due diligence for further investments. Troutman Sanders merged with Pepper Hamilton in 2020 to become Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP.

But the firm failed to recognize discrepancies in screenshots the conspirators sent of bank accounts, didn’t request bank statements, and failed to contact the bank to verify the existence of certain accounts, according to the suit. Because of the firm’s failure and green light on the deal, Busbice invested an additional $6 million, he said.

In 2014, Troutman Sanders recommended Busbice file several lawsuits against the co-conspirators. Busbice entered into a settlement with several of the conspirators in 2015, and obtained a judgment of $10.9 million.

After pursuing an ultimately unsuccessful case against another conspirator, Busbice sued his former attorneys for malpractice.

The Illinois Court of Appeal, First District, dismissed the case March 26, finding the two-year statute of limitations had run out.

There were several dates at which Busbice knew or should have known about the alleged malpractice, Justice Mary K. Rochford wrote for the court.

The earliest of these was April 2014, when a Troutman Sanders attorney allegedly emailed Busbice and disclosed that he had failed to discover that each page of a bank account screenshot listed a different owner. The latest date was February 2016, when judgments totaling $10.9 million were entered against the co-conspirators, Rochford said.

Regardless of which date is applied, the two-year limitations period expired before October 2019 when the malpractice suit was filed.

Rochford also rejected Busbice’s equity-based argument. Troutman Sanders’ failure to inform Busbice of the potential for a malpractice claim didn’t amount to the type of concealment or misrepresentation sufficient to toll the statute of limitations, she wrote.

Justices Mathias W. Delort and Thomas E. Hoffman joined the opinion.

Novack Macey LLP represents Troutman Sanders. James G. Pesoli represents Busbice.

The case is Busbice v. Troutman Sanders LLP, Ill. App. Ct., No. 200848-U, 3/26/21.