Trials & Litigation
Lawyers Affilliated With Scruggs Barred From Katrina Litigation
Posted Apr 8, 2008, 10:25 am CST
By Molly McDonough
A federal judge has ruled that a group of Mississippi attorneys who were once affiliated with disgraced plaintiffs lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs is barred from representing any policyholders in lawsuits against State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. over Hurricane Katrina damage.
Ruling in Gulfport, Miss., Friday, U.S. District Judge L.T. Senter Jr., in Gulfport, Miss., cited ethical issues in barring the lawyers, the Associated Press reports. He also disqualified two key witnesses from testifying against State Farm or their former employer.
Scruggs, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a judge, had withdrawn from representing policyholders in cases against State Farm after he was indicted last November.
After Scruggs withdrew, the Scruggs Katrina Group reformed their legal team into the Katrina Litigation Group to continue working on the cases. But Senter ruled that all members of the Katrina Group are tainted by Scuggs' conduct because they knew that Scruggs had made improper payments to the two witnesses and didn't do anything to stop them, the AP reports.
Lawyers included in the prohibition come from the Barrett Law Office, Nutt & McAlister, the Lovelace Law Firm and Hesse & Butterworth, AP notes.
Policyholders have 45 days to hire new lawyers.
More news:
Lawyers in State Farm Suits Barred for Payments to Witnesses (WSJ Law Blog)
Senter disqualifies Katrina Litigation attorneys from representing policyholders (Biloxi Sun-Herald)