Dallas’ Fifth Court of Appeals has overturned a 2021 jury decision against alleged McKinney FBI informant Jonathan Rute. He was previously ordered to help pay nearly $11 million to Plano spine doctor Stephen Courtney after a jury ruled that Rute supplied WFAA-TV (Channel 8) with information that helped it produce stories that compared Courtney to infamous Texas neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch, also known as “Dr. Death.”
With the latest ruling, Rute and his attorney, Ty Clevenger, say they are hoping to take Courtney and his attorneys back to court over malicious prosecution claims. The pair say they will be seeking monetary damages of more than $5 million against Courtney in an upcoming suit against the doctor.
“We reverse and vacate the trial court’s March 1, 2021, and November 30, 2021 orders as to [Kelly] Liebbe; reverse the final judgment and render judgment that Dr. Courtney and his professional association take nothing on their claims against Liebbe and Rute for conversion, tortious interference with contract, and violations of the Texas Uniform Trade Secrets Act and reverse the final judgment and render judgment that Dr. Courtney take nothing on his conspiracy claim against Rute,” the July 5 verdict said.
Rute and Courtney did not respond to a phone call requesting an interview with The Dallas Morning News. However, Rute’s attorney, Ty Clevenger, said the appeals court ruling has liberated Rute and will allow him to file litigation against Courtney and his attorneys.
“It’s a huge relief for John, because he’s got security claims. He’s a defense contractor, an engineer. He lost a job, was turned down and rejected because of his lawsuit that was hanging over him,” he said. “It now frees him up to go after the people who put him in this positions, which he intends to do.”
In May and July 2017, WFAA aired two stories about Courtney that compared him to “Dr. Death.” The stories included interviews with Courtney’s former patients who claimed he had prioritized profits over safety by using cervical plates, screws and other tools that could be inserted into the body during surgery.
At the time, Courtney claimed the WFAA stories had cost his business an estimated $10 million in damages between May 2017 to the end of 2020 when patients stopped scheduling and canceled appointments with him. He said he lost 208 procedures in that time.
In September 2021, a 12-person jury awarded Courtney $10,897,774 for damages. Cameron Carmody, Courtney’s ex-business partner turned bitter rival, had secretly been compiling data from 1,571 medical files without authorization from Courtney.
The Collin County jury later decided that Carmody, Rute and two others were on the hook for damages caused against Courtney’s business. However, Rute never started paying back his court-ordered 30% of the near $11 million he and others owed Courtney, according to Clevenger.
In addition to monetary damages, Clevenger said he hopes the ruling will prompt the FBI to file an investigation into the judge who oversaw the 2022 case, John Roach. Roach did not respond to a phone call interview request from The News.
“My frustration is with the trial judge. My client was a confidential informant, and, at one point, the FBI was investigating Dr. Courtney,” he said. “The very first time Jonathan appeared in front of Judge Roach, he was extremely hostile and condescending. He needs a challenge because he is not fit to serve as a judge.”
