Creepy lawyer, 76, was filmed groping female attorney, 43, in court... now he has launched brazen scheme to avoid paying her $5 million damages

A lawyer who was filmed groping opposing counsel at a courthouse has dragged his feet in showing accountability, even after he was ordered to pay $5 million in damages, now launching an appeal to overturn the judgment. 

Michelle Acosta, 43, filed a lawsuit against fellow Texas attorney Allan Manka, 76, in 2021, alleging that he grabbed her buttocks two years before while she was representing her brother during his divorce proceedings, according to court documents.  

The accusation led to years of legal proceedings. Even after a jury sided with Acosta in 2024, Manka attempted to get the judgment overturned by filing an appeal in the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio. 

The appeals court once again upheld the judgment earlier this year, but Manka filed a second appeal with the Texas Supreme Court in June, arguing that the $5 million Acosta's lawyers demanded did not add up. 

Acosta was awarded $3 million for past mental anguish damages and $2 million for future mental anguish damages. 

Manka's attorneys argued in the petition that the $3 million in mental anguish damages lacked evidence. 

Acosta testified that she paid $300 for therapy sessions after the assault. Manka's lawyers have now argued that if she paid $300 an hour for therapy during the 1,933 days that passed since the assault, she would have had to attend sessions for five hours a day, according to the petition. 

The petition also argued that Manka's lawyers urged the jury to award the high-dollar amount to 'send him a message.' 

'Counsel urged the jury to put big numbers on the verdict so it would be heard around the state,' the petition read. 

Manka's lawyers also accused Acosta of providing 'inconsistent' testimony about whether she pushed him away when he touched her. 

Acosta's attorneys have yet to file a response to the petition. However, Lara Brock, who has represented Acosta since the case was filed in 2021, told the San Antonio Express News in a statement: 'I am disappointed to see Mr. Manka's continued refusal to accept accountability for his choices and actions, both in relation to his initial encounter with Ms. Acosta and throughout the litigation and trial.' 

The sequence of events first unfolded at the Wilson County Courthouse on June 13, 2019, while representing opposing parties at a family law hearing, according to a statement of facts in court documents. 

Acosta was representing her brother, Keith, while Manka was representing his ex-wife, Cindy Perez. 

The two clients decided to negotiate face-to-face while Manka and Acosta waited in the courthouse foyer. 

Courthouse surveillance camera footage captured the moment when Manka slid his hand down Acosta's lower back. 

She testified that he put his hand around her left buttocks and squeezed it, telling the court: 'It was a huge handful that got a lot of my rear end in it and squeezed it.' 

Acosta filed a criminal complaint that same day, and Manka pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge. He was ordered to pay a $400 fine.  

She told the San Antonio Express-News in May that she felt the justice system 'let her down,' which led to her decision to file a civil suit. 

'Time after time again, it was like, well, this is not a big deal. But it is a big deal,' she added. 

'To be completely transparent, I would have initially settled for an apology. This man said I would never get it. He said, if anything, I owe him money.'

Acosta had also warned other female attorneys of Manka's conduct in a private Facebook group.

After her first encounter with him, she wrote about the assault on the social media group Girl Attorney - TX. 

'Rather than shake my hand, he reached around and GRABBED MY BUTT, then quickly left the courthouse!!!!' she said. 

At first, Acosta omitted Manka's name, but later called him a 'Serial Predator' on Facebook, according to court documents. 

Manka countersued for defamation, but Acosta's legal team successfully argued that he had already pleaded no contest to the initial allegations. 

During the 2024 trial, Acosta testified that Manka touched her three times, sliding his hand down her lower back and then touching her hair and wrapping his arm around her. 

When pressed during cross-examination about why she did not force him away from her, she replied, 'I didn’t know it’s my responsibility to stop a man from grabbing my a**.'

Acosta's attorneys invoked the Me Too movement during closing arguments, urging jurors to 'punish' Manka with a high sum to send a message to other 'slimy lawyers,' Javier Espinoza, who represented Acosta, argued. 

Manka's lawyers accused Acosta of a 'money grab' and questioned why he would grab her at a public courthouse while her family was there. The jury ultimately sided with Acosta, and the appeals court upheld the decision in May. 

After the 2024 trial, the San Antonio Express-News reported that Manka's wife filed for divorce using only the couple's initials, and ownership of their property was transferred to her. 

Acosta recently spoke out about the case, writing on social media after the appeals court decision: 'Nearly seven years ago, my life changed in a courthouse lobby. What happened that day shook me in ways I am still learning to put into words, and the years that followed tested every part of me as a woman, as a mother, as a wife, and as an attorney.'

'I am posting this not to celebrate a number, and not to relive what happened, but because I want the people who carried me to this moment to know what their work meant,' she added. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to Acosta and Manka's representation for comment.