Antoine Fuqua has been sued by a former consultant for “The Equalizer 3.”
According to court documents obtained by Variety, “The Equalizer 3” consultant Paul Lozada filed a complaint in the Los Angeles Superior Court claiming that the film’s director failed to credit or compensate him for his contributions to the project.
The 20-page document claimed Fuqua committed breach of oral contract, implied-in-fact contract, common counts, and promissory fraud.
In the suit, lawyers for Lozada, a former San Francisco Police Department officer, claimed that Fuqua asked the consultant to advise him on the operations of the Italian mafia, drug trade shipping methods, and the timeline of a forensic investigation of a murder scene.
The documents also contained excerpts of text conversations between Fuqua and Lozada, wherein Lozada tried to reach “The Equalizer 3’s” set in Italy under the impression he was “part of a team.”
Soon after, Fuqua sent the text message, “Not one thing in ‘Equalizer’ had anything to do with you. Not one thing. You came to Rome, and I wanted you involved somehow. To help you. Not me…
“I have nothing but love and respect for you Paul. But I don’t Owe you anything.” Lozada has allegedly worked as a consultant on previous Fuqua, including the first “The Equalizer” and “Training Day.”