Mississippi

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…

Sep 14, 2007 4:10 PM CDT

Big-Name PI Lawyer Sentenced for Bribing Judges

A wealthy Biloxi lawyer and two former Mississippi judges were sentenced on Friday for taking part in a bribery scheme. Lawyer Paul Minor was sentenced to serve 11 years in prison and ordered to pay a $2.75 million fine and $1.5 million in restitution, the Sun Herald reports. Minor earns…

Sep 10, 2007 1:10 PM CDT

11th Circuit: Return Katrina Docs!

In a blunt opinion filed today, a federal appeals court says two sisters portrayed as whistle-blowers in ongoing litigation over Hurricane Katrina insurance claims must return some 15,000 internal documents concerning State Farm Insurance Co. The unpublished ruling by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is potentially important not…

Aug 24, 2007 9:38 PM CDT

Seale Gets Life in 1964 Case

A reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan in Mississippi was sentenced today to three life terms for his role in abducting, beating and killing two black teenagers in 1964. James Ford Seale, 72, was convicted in June on federal charges of conspiracy and two counts of kidnapping concerning the…

Aug 24, 2007 6:56 PM CDT

Scruggs, Firm in Criminal Contempt Case

A well-known Mississippi plaintiffs attorney and his law firm have been charged with criminal contempt by special federal prosecutors after they defied a federal judge’s order to return internal claims documents to an insurance company. Appointed by U.S. District Judge William M. Acker Jr. after the local U.S. attorney in…

Aug 22, 2007 4:44 PM CDT

FL Fights for Internal State Farm Docs

A battle between Florida regulators and the state’s biggest property insurer is capturing the attention of lawyers there and elsewhere, because of what’s really at issue. Property insurance rate-setting is the official topic. But attorneys on both sides are waiting to see whether State Farm, a Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer, has…

Aug 15, 2007 5:26 PM CDT

Katrina Tax Break Promotes Luxe Condos

Federal tax breaks billed as providing rebuilding aid for areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama that were devastated by Hurricane Katrina are promoting construction of luxurious homes far inland. As red tape and disorganization, among other issues, delay rebuilding in some of the most severely damaged areas, the tax breaks…

Aug 14, 2007 6:45 PM CDT

Suit: Insurer Issued False Katrina Reports

A federal whistleblower lawsuit ordered unsealed today claims that State Farm Insurance Co. pressured engineers investigating homeowner claims to falsify reports about the cause of damage from Hurricane Katrina. Instead of saying that wind damage from the August 2005 storm, which is covered by homeowner policies, destroyed insured houses on…

Aug 6, 2007 11:14 PM CDT

Bloomberg: Insurers Aren’t Paying Claims

Despite having had to cover Hurricane Katrina, the worst U.S. disaster in the history of insurance, carriers are earning record profits. One reason why is that many don’t pay claims to the extent promised in insurance policies, a news agency says. “Insurers often pay 30-60 percent of the cost of…

Aug 3, 2007 8:47 PM CDT

US Attorney to Judge: No Scruggs Case

A federal prosecutor in Alabama has declined a federal judge’s suggestion that she should prosecute Richard Scruggs, a prominent Mississippi plaintiffs lawyer, for contempt of court. U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said yesterday in a letter to U.S. District Judge William M. Acker Jr. that “following a serious and thorough review…

Jul 26, 2007 5:43 PM CDT

New Housing Rules Hit Katrina Victims

Nearly two years after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Aug. 29, 2005, displaced residents from the lowest economic rungs of the region’s economic ladder are still struggling–often in communities far from home. But as many businesses desperately seek workers, and former residents fruitlessly seek…

Jul 13, 2007 2:17 AM CDT

Suit in ‘Shackling Case’ Cites Reform-School Problems

Two years after Mississippi settled a lawsuit that claimed abuses at a state reform school, a new suit cites continuing problems. Five of the six plaintiffs say they were shackled for 12 hours a day while at Columbia Training School, and three say they were able cut themselves while on…

Jul 12, 2007 3:50 PM CDT

Young Trial Atty Wins Big Katrina Case

A renowned trial lawyer on the Mississippi gulf coast who had a big influence in the life of novelist John Grisham, attorney Will Denton made a name for himself as a plaintiff lawyer after Hurricane Camille hit the state in 1969. He didn’t live to see the devastation wrought on…

Jul 6, 2007 9:41 PM CDT

Judge: Scruggs in Criminal Contempt

A federal judge in Alabama is asking the U.S. Justice Department to prosecute a high-profile trial lawyer for criminal contempt, contending that Richard Scruggs brazenly violated a court injunction by sharing documents concerning Hurricane Katrina-related insurance claims with the Mississippi attorney general. In an order, Dist. Judge William Acker asks…

Jun 16, 2007 1:16 AM CDT

Ex-Klansman on Trial for 1964 Kidnapping

Trial began yesterday in Jackson, Miss., for former Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale, accused of kidnapping two black men before they were murdered in 1964. In opening arguments, prosecutor Paige Fitzgerald said the trial would offer “an inside view into the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a…

Jun 5, 2007 4:46 PM CDT