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Richard "Dickie" Scruggs was hired by Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore to assist with a lawsuit against thirteen tobacco companies in the 1990s. Prior to that he was known for his class action lawsuits against the asbestos industry. Settlement of the state's case against the tobacco companies was for 368 billion dollars (USD). His performance in this case was portrayed in the movie The Insider by Colm Feore. Scruggs also would lead and become a spokesman for the plaintiffs in the Ritalin class action lawsuits. He asserted that the Ritalin defendants, "manufactured a disease"...and "it has been grossly over-prescribed. It is a huge risk." All five class actions in five separate states were dismissed before trial.
Scruggs attended law school at the University of Mississippi with Mike Moore. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi. He practiced law in Jackson, Mississippi and New York before opening his own private practice in Pascagoula, Mississippi.
Scruggs and his wife Diane are ardent supporters of the University of Mississippi, having made large donations to several organizations on campus. Scruggs Hall was named in their honor. It currently houses the Music department.
Scruggs' brother-in-law is Senator Trent Lott, former Majority Leader of the US Senate (Scruggs' wife Diane is the sister of Lott's wife Tricia). Scruggs is currently representing Lott through the Scruggs Katrina Group in a lawsuit against insurance company State Farm because of damage stemming from Hurricane Katrina.
Robert Hood tapped Scruggs to file suit against on behalf of Mississippi against numerous insurance companies to recover damages in wake of Katrina. On June 15, 2007, U.S. District Court Judge William Acker, in an opinion recommending that Scruggs be prosecuted for criminal contempt, suggested high pressure tactics were unfairly used to pressure the insurance companies into settlement, and that documents were improperly sent to Hood's office "for the calculated purpose of ensuring noncompliance with or avoidance."
On Wednesday, November 28, 2007, Scruggs was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he and a group of four others attempted to bribe Mississippi Third Circuit Court Judge Henry L. Lackey with around $40,000. This payment was allegedly in exchange for a favorable ruling in a case involving $26.5 million in disputed legal fees related to his Scruggs Katrina Group litigation team.
References
- Richard Scruggs, Frontline: Inside the Tobacco Deal
- Music Department Facilities, University of Mississippi Web Site
- LA Times story on Lott's suit
- Primary court document 06-cv-01752-WMA Doc. 145 "Memorandum Opinion," June 15, 2007. See also "Alabama judge seeks criminal contempt prosecution of Scruggs". Mobile Register. 2007-06-17.
{{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) Judge Recommends Feds Prosecute Scruggs for Contempt, Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
External links
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