(October 25, 2007)

There's more on the lawsuit filed by the State Attorney General's, a suit that essentially seeks to shut down Celis' law office here in Corpus Christi on the grounds that it violates the state law against deceptive trade practices.

The state is suing Celis and the CGT law firm for unlawful practices. It's being treated as a civil case because the state believes the firm is violating business laws.

In the 13-page filing, there is a lot of information filed by the State Attorney General's office. The state's top attorney believes Mauricio Celis and the CGT lawfirm have engaged in unlawful practices. The state alleges Celis and CGT law firm violate the law by allowing him to share in a portion of the legal fees.

In the law suit, they are seeking a restraining order to prevent the group from practicing law, and referring cases to other attorneys. They also don't want the law firm to destroy or hide any of the records.

The state wants the law firm to pay $20,000 for each violation, to refund clients for money from legal fees and stop advertising on tv, the internet or in the newspaper about its law firm.

The Attorney General's lawsuit was filed in Austin on Wednesday. A Travis County court clerk said a temporary injunction hearing will be held for this case on November 13th at 9 a.m.

--Manuel De La Rosa, 3 News, mdelarosa@kiiitv.com