Miss. Insurance Commissioner Questions Lawyer’s Motive for Donation

Mississippi Insurance Commissioner George Dale says voters should question attorney Richard Scruggs’ motive for giving $250,000 to a political action committee created to target Dale’s re-election campaign.

Scruggs, a high-profile attorney in Oxford, gave the donation to Mississippians for Fair Elections, an organization he said was created to raise awareness about the role Dale plays in the lives of Mississippians.

“The people of Mississippi need to take a strong look at why one person would feel so strongly about trying to control an office that would cause him to give a quarter million dollars,” Dale said Wednesday.

Scruggs, who helped negotiate a multibillion dollar settlement with tobacco companies in the mid-1990s, represents hundreds of homeowners in lawsuits against insurers over claims from Hurricane Katrina.

In a statement, Scruggs said the contribution may seem like a lot of money, but, “it is nothing in comparison to the millions that insurance companies are refusing to pay to help Mississippians rebuild their homes and businesses or the millions big insurance pays to influence politicians at the expense of homeowners.”

Dale has sponsored a mediation program that allows policyholders to resolve their claims with insurers without resorting to litigation. Dale believes this is the reason he’s become a target of the wealthy lawyer.

“We have negotiated a settlement where all of the money has gone to consumers without 30 or 40 percent going to a law firm, and he’s upset about that,” Dale said.

Scruggs has been critical of the mediation program, saying it “has no teeth.” Dale said 83 percent of the cases in the program have been settled.

Dale, who has been insurance commissioner for 32 years, also found himself at odds with Scruggs earlier this year. Months after Scruggs’ legal team withdrew support for a January deal that called for State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. to pay at least $50 million to some 35,000 policyholders, the insurer reached a separate but similar agreement with Dale.

The Scruggs Katrina Group last week launched its second wave of advertisements critical of Dale and the insurance industry. The ads appear across Mississippi.

“I have contributed to this effort because it’s past time for us to have an insurance commissioner who works for the people instead of the big insurance bosses,” Scruggs said in his statement.

Dale raised $212,910 during the month of July, with much of the money coming from contributions from the insurance industry. However, he said his fundraising cannot compete with Scruggs.

“I can’t outspend Dickie Scruggs. He’s got more money than anybody. Very few people ever tell Dickie Scruggs no.”

Topics Mississippi