A group claiming to be descended from the Knights Templar, which was suppressed in the year 1307 under orders from Pope Clement V, has “filed a lawsuit against Benedict XVI calling for him to recognise the seizure of assets worth 100 billion euros (£79 billion).” (Fiona Govan, “Knights Templar heirs in legal battle with the Pope”, Telegraph, Aug. 4; NewsHoggers, Aug. 4 (noting unlikelihood that claim of descent can be adequately demonstrated)).
I’ve got a piece in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal on the indictment of perhaps the nation’s most successful tort lawyer and four colleagues on charges of attempted judicial bribery. The tag line the Journal’s editors give the piece: “Dickie Scruggs’s mistake may have been to stiff another lawyer.” (Walter Olson, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 15)(sub-only). For new readers who’d like much more detail about the indictments and their aftermath, check out my regular updates at this site and also those of David Rossmiller at Insurance Coverage Blog. I’ve been covering Mr. Scruggs’s doings in tobacco, asbestos, product liability, reparations, HMO, and hospital litigation pretty steadily since this site got its start in 1999 (newer/older posts). (Bumped Monday a.m. for those who didn’t see it over the weekend).
A report in today’s New York Times advances the ball on a number of fronts:
“It’s scorched earth with Dickie Scruggs,” says Mr. Merkel, sitting in a wood-paneled office featuring duck-hunting memorabilia and two framed checks representing about $17 million in payments that Mr. Scruggs had to disgorge to Mr. Merkel’s client — a lawyer named Alwyn Luckey who argued that Mr. Scruggs shortchanged him for work he performed on asbestos cases that made Mr. Scruggs rich.Mr. Merkel and prosecutors say that the Luckey case foreshadowed some of Mr. Scruggs’ woes in the current bribery case. “As far as whether he’s guilty, I can’t say,” Mr. Merkel concedes. “But I’m not surprised, because he’s willing to use any means to an end. And it irks the hell out of me when Scruggs skates on the edge and makes the profession look bad.”
In his deposition with Mr. Merkel in 2004, he discussed some $10 million in payments he made to P. L. Blake, a onetime college football star in Mississippi. After running into financial troubles, Mr. Blake became a political consultant for Mr. Scruggs, helping his boss navigate the back rooms of state politics and tobacco litigation.In the deposition, where he was represented by Mr. Balducci, Mr. Scruggs praised Mr. Blake for keeping “his ear to the ground politically in this state and in the South generally, and he has been extremely helpful in keeping me apprised of that type activity.” Mr. Blake could not be reached for comment.
When Mr. Merkel further pressed Mr. Scruggs about Mr. Blake’s services, Mr. Scruggs elaborated: “He has numerous connections — in terms — when I say connections, I don’t mean that in a sinister way, I mean he just has a lot — he knows an awful lot of people in the political realm. And he — depending on the stage of tobacco litigation proceedings was keeping his ear to the ground, prying, checking. I mean, I never asked who or what or all that.”
David Rossmiller takes note of a letter by Balducci dated August 1 over a regulatory matter which in its cocksure and sarcastic tone suggests that Balducci had not yet been confronted and “flipped” by federal investigators as of that date. This morning he adds a document and link roundup.
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger quotes Jackson attorney Dennis Sweet, who partnered with Scruggs on slavery reparations, as saying he “had a hard time believing that Dickie would involve his son in anything like this,” a comment that perhaps is open to close reading.
At Y’AllPolitics, two commenters discuss how conspiracy investigations logically develop over their life cycle. David Sanders notes that when the timing is up to them, federal investigators prefer not to uncover operations and reveal informants until they are satisfied they’ve caught all the targets in their net, which raises the question of whether they had developed what they considered to be the best evidence they were going to get, or whether some development forced their hand into closing the net before that point. “LawDoctor1960″ observes that the indictees will soon get a look at the prosecution’s case, which if damning could induce one or more to join Balducci in “flipping” with resulting further revelations and perhaps further indictments.
The WSJ law blog has some answers to the question put the other day: Where is Mr. Keker?
Folo wonders: does the Scruggs firm (as opposed to Scruggs Katrina) really not have a website, and if so, isn’t that exceedingly strange? Don’t they want to encourage potential clients to approach them?
Finally, for those who are wondering whether there’s any pro-Scruggs blogging to be found, we can report that we’ve spotted a reasonable facsimile at Cotton Mouth and at Pensacola Beach Blog.
Earlier coverage: here, here, here, etc.
Breaking Monday afternoon: FBI agents search offices of another leading Mississippi plaintiff’s attorney, Joey Langston, who has been representing Scruggs in his indictment, and has had many other past dealings with him.
In 1921, there were massive race riots which led to the destruction of the black section of Tulsa, Oklahoma and the murder of dozens or hundreds of blacks. (See Wikipedia for one account.) At the time, the official story exonerated local whites, blaming the riot on blacks; eventually, the whole incident was forgotten. In 1997, the Oklahoma legislature set up a commission, which issued a report four years later which found that in fact white residents, aided and abetted by the local government, were at fault.
Enter the lawyers. Eighty-two years after the incident, Johnnie Cochran, Charles Ogletree and other prominent attorneys filed a federal civil rights suit against the city of Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma on behalf of the survivors, seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief. As you might expect, courts don’t look too kindly on eight-decade old lawsuits, and so the federal district and appellate courts dismissed the suit, on the grounds that the statute of limitations had long since passed. (The Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal.)
So now the lawyers (well, not Johnnie Cochran) are in Washington, trying to get Congress to retroactively extend the statute of limitations so they can sue. Ogletree is a driving force behind the slavery reparations movement, which so far has also foundered on statute of limitations issues; if he succeeds here, be assured that he won’t be resting on his laurels.
(To be clear, unlike many of the suits we chronicle on Overlawyered, the Tulsa suit is not inherently frivolous, and it may well be legitimate to assign blame to the city and state, for actions that (unlike slavery) were illegal even at the time. But, to reiterate: eighty years.)
In Australia, at least, it seems this whole land claims and reparations business is getting rather serious. “The judgment will not affect homes or businesses, as the Australian courts have ruled that native title does not apply to land owned on a freehold or long-lease basis.” However, if the judgment is upheld against an expected appeal by the state of Western Australia, descendents of natives may win the right to convert public lands in the city (such as urban parks) into permanent encampments, and boaters worry that control over the right to use waterways may also be affected. (Kathy Marks, The Independent (U.K.), Sept. 21; “Native title could lock up parks: Ruddock”, AAP/The Australian, Sept. 22; Chris Merritt and Patricia Karvelas, “Title win boosts capital city claims”, The Australian, Sept. 21). Perth is a city of 1.5 million. A native claim over land in Melbourne and its environs is expected next. (Ben Packham, “Native title claim looms”, Herald-Sun, Sept. 21).
The Associated Press claims, on evidence whose strength readers may assess for themselves, that advocates of slavery reparations now constitute a “sophisticated, mainstream movement” which is “quietly chalking up victories and gaining momentum”. Amid all its cheerleading for the concept, the article brings in my Manhattan Institute colleague John McWhorter for token balance (Erin Texeira, “Slavery reparations gaining momentum”, AP/Boston Globe, Jun. 9).
“Lawyers who have been representing survivors of Canada’s residential school system are expected to get the biggest payment ever recorded for a Canadian class action case.” The federal government will pay about C$80 million in fees, of which half will go to the Regina-based Merchant Law Group and half to a consortium of other lawyers. (”Lawyers set to be paid $80M in school abuse deal”, CTV, May 8; “School abuse deal includes $80M for lawyers”, CBC, May 8). The fees are part of a $2 billion deal intended to resolve portions of the litigation over the federally-sponsored, church-run Indian schools, which were originally accused of permitting the infliction of physical and sexual abuse on some of their students; later the litigation expanded to include charges of “cultural deprivation” and alienation on behalf of thousands of Native Americans who attended the schools, which were geared toward assimilation into Canadian culture (FAQ from CBC on settlement). More: Aug. 23-24, 2000.
Updating our Feb. 22 report: “A judge Friday suspended California’s high school exit exam, finding it discriminatory in a ruling that could allow thousands of students who failed the test to get their diplomas anyway.” Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman “agreed with the plaintiffs that the exam discriminates against poor students and those who are learning English. ‘There is evidence in the record that shows that students in economically challenged communities have not had an equal opportunity to learn the materials tested,’ Freedman wrote.” It would appear that from now on a high school diploma is meant to signify not a student’s actual mastery of a certain body of material, but rather the mastery he or she would have attained had the breaks of life been fairer. Employers, and all others who rely on California high school diplomas in evaluating talent, would be well advised to adjust their expectations accordingly.
“Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell said the state would immediately appeal the ruling, which he said creates ‘chaos’ for more than 1,100 high schools that are completing graduation preparations.” However, plaintiff Mayra Ibanez was gratified:
“It is hard to be poor. It is hard to grow up in a place where there is a lot of crime,” said the 18-year-old, a Mexican immigrant who attends school in the working-class San Francisco Bay area city of Richmond. “No one will be hurt if we get our diploma.”
(Juliet Williams, “Ruling Blocks Calif. High School Exit Exam”, AP/Forbes, May 12).
Was high-profile civil rights lawyer and NYU lawprof Burt Neuborne working pro bono in the Swiss banks reparations case? Well, yes and no, it now seems. (William K. Rashbaum, “Lawyer’s $4.1 Million Fee Angers Holocaust Survivors”, New York Times, Feb. 25; Lattman, Feb. 27). Later updates: Jun. 30, Jul. 6, Oct. 6, 2006; Mar. 18, 2007.
Yes, it’s Ed Fagan again. This time the much-publicized reparations impresario “has been hit with sanctions that will run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for his handling of a lawsuit seeking recovery from an Austrian bank of the value of artwork looted by the Nazis. Employing unusually harsh language, Southern District of New York Judge Shirley Wohl Kram assessed attorney fees against [Fagan], and also fined him $5,000, finding he had committed champerty and misled her.” (Daniel Wise, New York Law Journal, Aug. 23). For Fagan’s earlier misadventures, see Jun. 4 and many links from there.
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“Absolutely, we will be pursuing reparations from companies that have historical ties to slavery and engaging all parties to come to the table,” says the group’s interim president, Dennis C. Hayes. The definition of historical ties is conveniently elastic, too:
James Lide, director of the international division at History Associates Inc., a Rockville firm that researches old records, said determining how many U.S. businesses are linked to slavery depends upon definition.Almost every business has at least an indirect link to slavery, he said. For example, some railroad and Southern utility companies can trace their roots to businesses that used slave labor. Textile companies, for example, use cotton that was grown on Southern plantations.
“There’s never going to be a solid number because the idea of how you connect a company to slavery is more a political one than a historical one,” Mr. Lide said.
(Brian DeBose, “NAACP to target private business”, Washington Times, Jul. 12). Ironically or otherwise, large American businesses — including some of the same ones targeted in the reparations demands — are already the NAACP’s biggest source of financial support. “We will take your money today,” said Hayes, “and sue you tomorrow.” (Greg Barrett and Kelly Brewington, “Corporate Funding Raises Ethical Questions For NAACP”, Baltimore Sun, Dec. 13, 2004). More on reparations: Jun. 10 (again), Jul. 7, Jul. 9 and many more.
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A federal lawsuit seeking reparations for descendants of slaves was dismissed for a second time on Wednesday. Even the inclusion of a 104 year old who plaintiff claimed to have lived in a slave hut with his family was not enough to save the lawsuit. (CentreDaily.com/Chicago Tribune, “Lawsuit seeking reparations for slavery dismissed again” July 6, 2005). Overlawyered previously reported on this case on Jan. 26 and Jan 30.
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…is up at InternetCases.com. Coverage includes our reparations posts.
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Reader John Steele Gordon writes, concerning the Wachovia announcement: “The WSJ had a story on May 10th about the same thing, only then it was J.P. Morgan Chase’s turn to grovel and donate. I wrote the following, which they had the bad sense not to publish:
Regarding the article about J.P. Morgan Chase spending heaven knows how much money to uncover the fact that some remote corporate ancestor had held a mortgage on slaves:Laws requiring corporations to do this are a historians’ relief act and, naturally, I’m all in favor of employing historians. But far more perniciously, these laws in effect work “corruption of the blood.” This medieval doctrine visited numerous legal disabilities upon the descendants of those attainted for treason, sometimes for generations. My distant ancestor Lt. Col. Daniel Axtell, for instance, was hanged, drawn, and quartered for the crime of regicide, having commanded the guard at the trial of King Charles I. His son, unable to practice law in England because of his father’s crime, emigrated to South Carolina.
The Founding Fathers, in their wisdom, forbade this grotesque inequity in Article III, Section 3 of the Constitution, and England abolished it in the reign of King William IV, 170 years ago.
Now it’s back, at least for corporations if not, yet, people. But in fact it’s even worse. Daniel Axtell at least committed a crime under the laws of the day and was savagely punished for it. The Citizens Bank of Louisiana, fully four generations ago, did nothing whatever that was illegal and suffered no retribution in its day. But its remote descendants — the stockholders of J. P. Morgan Chase — are being punished, ex post facto.
This is not progress.
More: Michelle Malkin, who was on the issue last week, generously links to our coverage in a post today.
Point of Law Volokh