Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed August 16, 2018. In The Fourteenth Court of Appeals NO. 14-17-00322-CV KISHWAR KUMAR SHARMA AND PADMA SHARMA, Appellants V. KASHIF KHAN, ABDUL MAJEED SAMMA, MURTAZA SAMMA, ACGI GROUP, INC., ANANTASAI, LLC, REFORM HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT LTD., SHAYAN & HIBA GROUP LTD., AND SAMMA UNIVERSAL GROUP INC., Appellees On Appeal from the 400th District Court Fort Bend County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 14-DCV-214129-A MEMORANDUM OPINION Kishwar Kumar and Padma Sharma appeal the trial court’s award of attorney’s fees in connection with their suit for breach of a settlement agreement. The Sharmas contend that the trial court erroneously awarded them $38,250 in attorney’s fees instead of the $520,000 they requested. We affirm. BACKGROUND The Sharmas sued appellees, Kashif Khan, Abdul Majeed Samma, Murtaza Samma, ACGI Group, Inc., Reform Healthcare Management Ltd., Shayan & Hiba Group Ltd., and Samma Universal Group, Inc., in 2014.1 The Sharmas alleged that they came to Texas in 2012 and invested $1,115,000 in Khan’s business, Advance Consulting Group, because Khan told them they could obtain citizenship after investing at least $1,000,000 in an American company that employed at least five Americans. The Sharmas alleged that Khan forged documents regarding their visa application and immigration status, requiring them to hire counsel to assist them with their immigration case. The Sharmas also alleged that Khan fraudulently transferred their investment to several entities and refused to provide an accounting of their investment. In their suit against appellees, the Sharmas asserted claims including fraud, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and unjust enrichment. The Sharmas and appellees entered into a mediated settlement agreement in February 2016, under which appellees agreed to pay the Sharmas $1,200,000 by March 10, 2016, or $1,300,000 by May 10, 2016. 2 When appellees failed to make the agreed payment, the Sharmas filed a supplemental petition on May 26, 2016, alleging that appellees breached the settlement agreement and requesting attorney’s fees for the breach. The Sharmas filed a motion for partial summary judgment on June 6, 2016, arguing that appellees breached the settlement agreement as a matter of law, entitling the Sharmas to $1,300,000 in damages and $520,000 in attorney’s fees. The 1 The Sharmas also sued Anantasai, LLC at the time. This entity filed for bankruptcy in December 2015. The Sharmas did not sue Anantasai, LLC for breach of the settlement agreement in 2016, and it is not a party to this appeal. 2 The settlement agreement is signed by the Sharmas’s counsel and appellees’ counsel; it is not signed by counsel for the bankruptcy trustee for Anantasai, LLC. 2 Sharmas attached to their summary judgment motion (1) a declaration from their trial counsel, Ashish Mahendru, in which he opined that $520,000 represents reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees for prosecuting the breach of settlement agreement — an amount “equal to the amount of 40% contingency fee that [the Sharmas] are obliged to pay to [his firm];” and (2) invoices for work performed in the case by different professionals, including Mahendru. Appellees ...
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