Hearing scheduled in Scruggs’ fee dispute
Attorneys representing the Jones firm hope to argue Tuesday in Lafayette County Circuit Court in Oxford that Scruggs and the others tried to bribe Lackey and should be sanctioned “by striking the defendants’ pleadings and entering a default judgment,” said Roy Percy, one of the firm’s attorneys.
“The parties put on evidence on whether the alleged bribery attempt occurred or not and if it did what are the appropriate sanctions,” Percy said. “That’s the purpose for us to put on proof that this occurred.”
However, the hearing could be pushed back if the judge grants a motion for continuance filed by Scruggs’ attorneys, Percy said.
Attorneys for Mayo Malette, the Oxford law firm representing Scruggs in the case, would not comment when contacted Monday by The Associated Press.
The lawsuit claims that the Jones firm worked with Scruggs and other lawyers who were part of the Scruggs Katrina Group, which was formed expressly to sue insurance companies in the wake of the 2005 storm.
The lawsuit alleged Scruggs and the others conspired to “freeze out” the Jones firm and offered it a “ridiculously low figure” for its work.
However, after Scruggs and some of his associates were indicted in November, that story got most of the news coverage. Scruggs, the brother-in-law of former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, is one if the wealthiest and best known tort attorneys in the country.
Clarion Ledger
4/14/8
Magnolia Tribune
