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LEGAL NEWSLINE

Thursday, March 28, 2024

News from February 2008


Scruggs contempt case dismissed

By John O'Brien |
Scruggs BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A federal judge on Friday dismissed criminal contempt charges against troubled trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who is still fighting federal charges that he attempted to bribe a state judge.

Hood: Thrill might be gone

By John O'Brien |
Hood JACKSON, Miss. - Asserting that he did not need to tap the deep pockets of indicted trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs to get re-elected, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said Wednesday his passion for the job may have diminished.

Purdue Pharma had say in use of settlement funds, McGraw says

By John O'Brien |
McGraw CHARLESTON, W. Va. - It wasn't just West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw's idea to spend $10 million from a 2004 settlement the way it was spent, his office recently said.

Scruggs allegedly offered sum to influence Hood

By John O'Brien |
Hood JACKSON, Miss. - Worried a state-run criminal investigation might interfere with his payday, indicted trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs may have attempted to sway Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood's decision to prosecute State Farm Insurance Cos.

Box tightens: Judge in Jones v. Scruggs will hold evidentiary hearing after bribery trial

By Steve Korris |
Scruggs OXFORD, Miss. - Special Judge William Coleman has granted himself authority to enter default judgment against attorney Dickie Scruggs for bribing a judge, but he wants proof before he will exercise his authority.

Scruggs' arguments rejected, trial looms

By John O'Brien |
Scruggs OXFORD, Miss. - Putting it mildly, Tuesday wasn't a very good day for indicted trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs.

Breaking: Judge makes rulings in Jones v. Scruggs

By Steve Korris |
Scruggs OXFORD, Miss. - A state judge ruled Tuesday that the actions of indicted trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs apply to the rest of the firms that made up the former Scruggs Katrina Group.

Hood a newsmaker once again

By John O'Brien |
Hood JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood said last week that prosecuting campaign contributors involved in a pair of alleged judicial bribery schemes would hit a little too close to home.

Scruggs hopes for turnaround tomorrow

By Victoria Johnson Hoggatt |
Scruggs OXFORD, Miss. - Beleaguered legal power player Richard Scruggs and his two remaining co-defendants charged with judicial bribery were denied their request for a change of venue from Mississippi by a federal judge Thursday.

Legends of Mississippi tort crumble, one-by-one

By Steve Korris |
Scruggs JACKSON, Miss. - No one in Mississippi knows for sure where all the tobacco money went, except former attorney general Mike Moore and his friend Dickie Scruggs, but people are perched on the edges of their seats to see who it destroyed.

Ford sued over faulty brake switch in Cook County

By Legal News Line |
CHICAGO -- A Morton Grove, Ill. resident sued the Ford Motor Company in Cook County Circuit Court alleging products liability with respect to a Ford truck's transmission system.

Benjamin: Count me in

By John O'Brien |
Benjamin CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Despite a fellow justice's best efforts, West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Brent Benjamin will not recuse himself from cases involving his biggest campaign supporter.

Forecast gloomy for rainmaker Scruggs

By Victoria Johnson Hoggatt |
Scruggs OXFORD, Miss. - With overcast skies outside, the prospects of legal superstar-turned-criminal-defendant Richard "Dickie" Scruggs did not appear too sunny either inside a federal courthouse Wednesday.

CALA accuses McGraw of lying to Legislature

By John O'Brien |
McGraw CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Exactly who West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw was representing in a 2001 lawsuit has become the subject of much debate.

W. Va. lawmakers: Put settlement funds in our hands

By John O'Brien |
McCabe CHARLESTON, W. Va. - Legislators who have grilled West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw over his appropriation of lawsuit settlement funds are sponsoring a bill that would eliminate his ability to do so in the future.

Houston DA quits, cites drug impairment amid AG probe

By Legal News Line |
Charles Rosenthal AUSTIN -- The embattled Houston-area DA at the center of a recent controversy involving Supreme Court Justice David C. Medina has resigned over various other charges.

Government's transcripts may be fatal for Scruggs

By John O'Brien |
Scruggs OXFORD, Miss. - The fruits of the federal government's disputed wiretaps apparently include indicted trial lawyer Richard "Dickie" Scruggs discussing an amount of money to be paid to a state judge.

Starcher hoping recusal cleanses Court

By John O'Brien |
Starcher CHARLESTON, W. Va. - The West Virginia Supreme Court's most outspoken justice will step aside in a case involving his longtime adversary.

Home Depot removes premises liability suit to federal court

By Legal News Line |
CHICAGO -- A premises liability suit against Home Depot was removed from Cook County to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on Feb. 11.

State Farm continues quest for KLG disqualification

By John O'Brien |
Don Barrett GULFPORT, Miss. - Not surprisingly, the attorneys for State Farm Insurance Cos. say the Katrina Litigation Group got it all wrong.