The partnership dispute at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein escalated this week when the firm’s executive committee voted to oust equity partner Barry Himmelstein, and he responded by filing an application to dissolve the firm.

At the heart of the controversy — at least according to Himmelstein — is the debit-card fee case that he and partner Richard Heimann tried last year, in which a federal judge ordered Wells Fargo to pay an estimated $203 million.