Legal Ethics
Firm Harmed By Bribery Scandal Will Recoup Damages
Posted Apr 16, 2008, 02:46 pm CDT
By Molly McDonough
The fallout from revelations that the one-time King of Torts was involved in a judicial bribery scandal continues this week with news that a Jackson, Miss., law firm is entitled to fees and possibly punitive damages because it was harmed by the actions of Richard "Dickie" Scruggs.
A state court judge ruled today that the Scruggs Katrina Group will need to pay an as-yet-to-be-determined amount to Jones, Funderburg, Sessums Peterson and Lee, the Associated Press reports.
At issue is the division of $26.5 million in legal fees from Hurricane Katrina insurance litigation. The Jones firm claims it was owed a larger share of the division.
The judge involved in the initial complaint about the division of fees, Henry Lackey, contacted authorities after he was offered $40,000 to rule in favor of Scruggs. Scruggs, his son Zach and others have pleaded guilty to conspiring to bribe a judge. All await sentencing.
The AP reports that today, Special Circuit Judge William Coleman, who took over after Lackey stepped aside, ruled that the Jones firm had indeed been harmed by the bribery ordeal.
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