A state appeals court has issued a terse but clear ruling that lets stand claims that Paul Callan, a CNN legal analyst and former name partner at Callan, Koster, Brady & Nagler, attempted to secretly spirit away a potential new client, allegedly costing the firm millions.

In a lawsuit that draws battle lines between Callan, a 30-year litigator, and the Manhattan law firm he helped create, a unanimous Appellate Division, First Department, panel issued a six-paragraph decision that points to unspecified “evidence in the record” of the conduct alleged. It also largely affirms Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ellen Coin’s denial earlier this year of an attempt by Callan and his co-defendants to dismiss the various fraud-based claims lodged against them.