A New York federal judge ordered the Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate to pay his former employer, Greenlight Capital, more than $1.31 million in attorneys’ fees and costs. The breakdown is: $1,198,464 in fees and $120,052 in costs. The ruling closes a long-running dispute from Fishback’s messy 2023 exit from the hedge fund.
Judge Paul Engelmayer said Fishback’s own conduct in dragging out the case helped justify the bulk of the award. He called Fishback’s claim that he would have settled earlier “legally and factually meritless.”
Greenlight sued after Fishback left, accusing him of inventing the title “head of macro,” secretly building his own firm, Azoria Capital, and using confidential Greenlight portfolio data. Fishback has since admitted sharing that information.
This adds to a growing pile of legal and financial problems. A separate $229,000 judgment remains unpaid; a magistrate ordered him to turn over Azoria stock certificates and dozens of luxury purchases to U.S. Marshals. Azoria’s two ETFs were liquidated months after launch due to weak investor interest. He lost an arbitration after failing to participate, and his former law firm withdrew over more than $150,000 in unpaid bills.
Fishback is still running in the Aug. 18 Republican primary, trailing Byron Donalds by a wide margin in both polling and fundraising. He recently survived a residency challenge from Lt. Gov. Jay Collins after admitting under oath that he voted in Washington, D.C. in 2020 and claimed a homestead exemption there, reversing earlier denials. That paperwork could still carry separate legal consequences.
A small-claims suit over unpaid scholarship money was also filed against his nonprofit last week. Court records further showed the campaign directed fake social media accounts to plant tips and boost coverage.