Scruggs Stays on State Farm Case

A federal judge has refused to disqualify lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs from representing dozens of Mississippi homeowners suing State Farm for denying Hurricane Katrina claims.

U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr. said State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. waited too long to file a motion seeking Scruggs’ ouster, the Associated Press reports.

State Farm contended Scruggs had committed ethical violations by forwarding confidential records obtained from two sisters who worked for the company to the Mississippi Attorney General’s office. The insurer said the violations required disqualification.

A different federal judge has ruled that Scruggs violated a court order to return the documents. Scruggs has been accused of criminal contempt by special prosecutors appointed to investigate, ABAJournal.com wrote in an earlier post.