Did lawyer's revelations about State Farm suit require its dismissal? Supreme Court to decide
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday accepted a case that contends Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs told the media about a pending whistleblower case against State Farm, violating the requirement that false-claims suits by private citizens be sealed for at least 60 days.
At issue in the suit is how courts should decide when to dismiss false-claims suits for violation of the seal requirement, report SCOTUSblog and the National Law Journal (sub. req.). The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had refused to dismiss the suit against State Farm.
Scruggs represented claims adjusters Cori and Kerri Rigsby, who claimed State Farm was improperly attributing home damage sustained from the winds of Hurricane Katrina to flooding, which would be covered by the federal government’s flood insurance. Wind damage would have to be covered by State Farm.
Scruggs pleaded guilty in 2008 to conspiring to bribe a judge in a dispute over Hurricane Katrina attorney fees, and pleaded guilty in 2009 in a second judicial bribery case.
