Letter of Apology » Dickie Scruggs

Zach Scruggs’ Permanent Disbarment: Yes, It’s Permanent

Dave Westheimer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 05:47:05 +0000

We recently noted Zach Scruggs’ ludicrous attempt to redefine his disbarment. On Thursday, the Mississippi Supreme Court rejected his motion:

EN BANC
2008-BD-00486-SCT

The Mississippi Bar v. David Zachary Scruggs; Disposition: Motion for rehearing filed by David Zachary Scruggs is denied. Easley, Graves and Randolph, JJ., would grant.

Is this the end of the matter? Or will Zach file a new motion disputing the meaning of “denied”?

(h/t folo)

Zach Scruggs Fights Permanent Disbarment

Dave Westheimer — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 06:31:00 +0000

On July 28 Zach Scruggs was permanently disbarred from practicing law in Mississippi. His March 21 plea hearing transcript contains this exchange:

THE COURT : All right, Mr. Scruggs. Of course, the legal profession that you say you love so much, you will not be a part of it the rest of your life. You understand that?
THE DEFENDANT : Yes, Your Honor.

But that was oh so long ago! Now Zach doesn’t see it that way at all. He now claims that Mississippi Bar rules “do not provide for permanent disbarment.” He has asked the Mississippi Supreme Court for clarification and has filed a motion in US District Court asking for a stay of federal disbarment until the question is resolved (Daily Mississippian, Daily Journal).

Rule 6 of the Mississippi Bar’s Rules of Discipline doesn’t contain the word “permanent.” However, it doesn’t appear to provide for reinstatement except in cases of reversal of conviction (or judgment).

McIntoshes, State Farm Settle

Dave Westheimer — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 05:08:47 +0000

Last week’s surprising announcement that Thomas and Pamela McIntosh were dropping extra-contractual and punitive damage claims against State Farm indicated that the case was about to settle. On Monday, a confidential settlement was announced and US District Judge L. T. Senter dismissed the case (.pdf). While the McIntoshes’ attorney Chip Merlin claimed that the settlement had no bearing on other pending State Farm lawsuits, State Farm’s press release, although certainly biased, really hits the nail on the head by describing the case the “centerpiece of Dickie Scruggs’ flawed Katrina legal strategy.” The Sun Herald has more here.

Whoa! McIntoshes Drop All Extra-Contractual Damage Claims Against State Farm

Dave Westheimer — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 06:28:37 +0000

That hammering sound you hear on the Mississippi coast isn’t coming from people boarding up for another Gulf hurricane–it’s the sound of more nails in the coffin lid of the former Scruggs Katrina Group’s once-grand plans to extort unwarranted punitive damage settlements from State Farm.

In McIntosh v. State Farm, on Monday the new attorneys for Thomas and Pamela McIntosh on Monday filed a Motion For Dismissal With Prejudice Of Extra-Contractual And Punitive Damage Claims, conceding among other things that the majority of their damage was caused by flood, that State Farm promptly paid their wind damage and the full limits of their flood policy, and that there is no credible evidence of bad faith or other conduct that would give rise to punitive damages. State Farm quicky responded and US District Judge L. T. Senter wasted no time approving. Per Anita Lee’s Sun-Herald story there’s still an issue of actual wind damages.

And if you should hear a whooshing sound, that’s just the wind being knocked out of the Rigsby sisters’ sails in ex rel. Rigsby, the qui tam case.

Biden Returns Campaign Contributions From Scruggs Defendants

Dave Westheimer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 06:06:45 +0000

The Daily Journal reports that US Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.) has returned campaign contributions of $2300 each from Dickie Scruggs, Zach Scruggs, Steve Patterson and Tim Balducci. An FEC report from the Biden For President campaign showed that the contributions had been donated to a cancer charity.

The WSJ Law Blog reported last December on the connection between the Biden campaign and the Scruggs defendants, including a fundraiser last August in Oxford hosted by Balducci, Scruggs and former Mississippi governor Bill Allain. Astonishingly, Biden had no comment. Not even a plagiarized speech.

New Grand Jury To Hear Second Scruggs Criminal Case

Dave Westheimer — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 06:48:04 +0000

The action in the US v. Scruggs bribery case which sent Dickie Scruggs, Zach Scruggs and Sid Backstrom to prison is now at a lull pending the (not yet scheduled) sentencing of Tim Balducci and Steve Patterson. However, there’s still the matter of the case in which Joey Langston pleaded guilty in January to bribing Judge Bobby DeLaughter via former Hinds County DA Ed Peters on behalf of Scruggs to influence the Wilson v. Scruggs civil suit. A federal grand jury which will meet in Oxford beginning August 19 is scheduled to hear the case. Langston, Patterson and Balducci are expected to testify. All three met last week with officials from the DOJ’s Public Integrity Division.This case has the potential to reveal much broader patterns of corruption; a certain former US senator could have a Lott of anxiety come next week (Clarion Ledger).

Meanwhile, the now-suspended DeLaughter is under investigation in at least three other cases unrelated to Scruggs but involving Peters. C-L stories here and here discuss recent developments in two of them.

Scruggs Defendants Disbarred

Dave Westheimer — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 05:13:39 +0000

The Mississippi Supreme Court on Thursday announced the permanent disbarment of Dickie Scruggs, Zach Scruggs and Sid Backstrom, as expected (Sun Herald).

Scruggs Depositions Contain New Allegations By State Farm

Dave Westheimer — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 06:10:23 +0000

Dickie and Zach Scruggs were compelled to give depositions last week in McIntosh v. State Farm. It was reported (to no one’s surprise) that they invoked their Fifth Amendment rights. They wanted the depositions sealed, which State Farm opposed. On Wednesday, the transcripts were made public, and many of the questions posed by State Farm attorneys were certainly eye-openers, alleging details of a wide ranging scheme involving Trent Lott, Jim Hood, the Rigsbys and others. Y’all Politics has the details and the Sun Herald also has a story. State Farm on Tuesday filed an emergency motion to compel testimony, but considering the possible further criminal implications for both Dickie and Zach Scruggs, it would be surprising if the motion were granted.

Meanwhile, in a rewrite of Tuesday’s story, the Sun Herald reported Wednesday that the Rigsbys have obtained new counsel in the qui tam case, Gilbert Randolph of Washington.

Rigsby Sister Act May Be Nearing Final Curtain

Dave Westheimer — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:00:42 +0000

It’s beyond our scope to delve into all the filings in ex rel. Rigsby, the qui tam case filed by Kerri Rigsby and Cori Rigsby Moran, formerly represented by Dickie Scruggs. But the latest ones are of importance because if true, they confirm what those of us without blinders have suspected all along: that the whole production was staged by Scruggs from the beginning, well before either he or the Rigsbys insist they met each other.

State Farm has filed a response opposing Provost Umphrey’s entry for the Rigsbys, as they earlier indicated they would. In support of certain of the arguments in that motion, State Farm also presented transcripts from adjuster Tammy Hardison and her assistant Dana Lee, former Rigsby coworkers at E. A. Renfroe. We won’t go into all the jaw-dropping details, but David Rossmiller has an excellent and hilarious review of the content. We agree with his assesment: “The Ride of the Rigsbys is definitely over, finished, bye-bye, ancient history, kaput, ausgespielt.” Anita Lee at the Sun Herald has a story here.

Provost Umphrey Wants To Represent The Rigsby Sisters — Maybe

Dave Westheimer — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 06:59:58 +0000

Provost Umphrey of Beaumont, Texas, the law firm which has picked up some of the clients from the now-disqualifed Scruggs Katrina group in the Shows v. State Farm RICO lawsuit, has filed a Motion for Leave to discuss and consider representing the Rigsby sisters in ex rel. Rigsby, the qui tam case. They also ask for an extension of the deadline for the Rigsbys to obtain representation. Oddly, the motion was filed in connection with a different civil action, Alford v. State Farm, yet it seeks relief for Provost Umphrey, not Alford. Attorneys for State Farm quickly filed a notice of intent to respond in opposition to the firm’s attempt to represent the Rigsbys, but will not oppose giving the Rigsbys more time to obtain new counsel The Sun Herald story has links to both filings.