December 14, 2007
The criminal contempt case of Mississippi trial lawyer Richard Scruggs was reassigned to a Florida judge Wednesday because 16 federal judges in north Alabama recused themselves from the case. C. Roger Vinson, Northern District of Florida, will preside in the …
December 12, 2007
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood says the bribery charges against the prominent lawyer he used as a “confidential informant” in a Hurricane Katrina investigation won’t affect the state’s lawsuits over storm damages. Richard “Dickie” Scruggs was indicted Nov. 28 on …
December 7, 2007
Mississippi Lawyer Timothy Balducci pleaded guilty to conspiracy to bribe a judge and is assisting federal prosecutors in a case involving one of the nation’s wealthiest trial lawyers. Balducci is allegedly the lawyer who physically delivered thousands of dollars to …
November 29, 2007
FBI agents who searched the law offices of Mississippi attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs on Tuesday left with copies of the office’s computer hard drives, a lawyer for the firm said Wednesday. Joey Langston, who represents Scruggs’ firm but isn’t an …
November 12, 2007
Mississippi Insurance agent Ken Nowlin is objecting to a pre-sentence report that suggests he may have to pay restitution to Lafayette County in a kickback scheme involving the county’s health care coverage. In July, Nowlin pleaded guilty in federal court …
November 12, 2007
A federal judge has ordered jailed Ala. outdoorsman Edmond H. “Eddie” Smith IV to pay more than $1 million to an insurance firm that accused him of filing a bogus post-Hurricane Katrina damage claim for a riverfront mansion near Mobile. …
November 9, 2007
A federal judge has extended a restraining order that prevents Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood from continuing a criminal investigation into State Farm Insurance Cos.’ handling of Hurricane Katrina claims, a company spokesman said. U.S. District Court Judge Michael T. …
October 27, 2007
A declaratory judgment action is essentially a request — typically by the insurer but often by the insured — that a court examine the relevant insurance policy provisions and declare the rights and obligations of the parties under the insurance …
October 27, 2007
If there is a parallel state court lawsuit that involves the same parties and the same issues as the federal court case, it is not uncommon for a federal court to decline to entertain the dispute.
October 11, 2007
Kentucky’s GOP chairman wants the Office of Insurance to terminate the contract of a Lexington law firm that has represented the state agency for more than a decade in the bankruptcy of Kentucky Central Life Insurance Co. Steve Robertson said …