Overlawyered: Chronicling The High Cost Of Our Legal System

Posts Tagged ‘Mississippi’

Lawyers’ ads, scaring patients

The reformist website Sick Of Lawsuits points out an unpleasant side-effect of the typical lawyers’ ad campaign seeking to drum up lawsuits over side effects of prescription drugs, namely that it may cause patients to go off medications that are a good bet for them:

“* Twenty-five percent of patients said they would immediately stop taking a prescribed drug if they saw an ad for a lawsuit involving that drug. (Pharmaceutical Liability Survey, Harris Interactive, July 15, 2003)

“* Nine mental health patients in South Mississippi stopped taking their prescribed medications after seeing personal injury lawyer advertising regarding Zyprexa and Risperdal – drugs used to treat patients with schizophrenia and bipolar mania. ‘People see these ads and they think that they’re bad for them, so they quit taking them,’ said Teri Breister, executive director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill in Mississippi. ‘But these patients’ lives have come apart again. Every time they stop taking their medications, the episodes become worse.’ (‘Tort Advertisements Worry Some Health Advocates,’ Biloxi Sun Herald, March 21, 2004)”

More: Prof. Childs.

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First lawyer indicted in Miss. fen-phen probe

“A Jackson attorney has been indicted on charges accusing him of helping individuals submit false settlement claims for the diet drug Fen-Phen, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. Robert Arledge, who was employed by Richard Schwartz and Associates during the time the indictment covers, is the first attorney charged in the ongoing federal investigation.” The false submissions generated more than $8 million in settlements in attorneys’ fees, prosecutors say. (Jimmie E. Gates, “Jackson lawyer indictment in Fen-Phen probe”, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, May 26; “Vicksburg attorney indicted in scam”, May 27). For more on the Mississippi fen-phen scandal, see Feb. 8 and many earlier links.

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Update: Jury clears Diaz of tax evasion charges

In the latest chapter of the long-running Mississippi judicial scandal (Dec. 10, etc.), a jury has cleared Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. of federal tax evasion charges. (Jimmie E. Gates, “Jury clears Diaz”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Apr. 28; Julie Goodman, “Diaz acquittal fuels election questions”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Apr. 29). Earlier, a jury had acquitted Diaz of corruption charges while failing to resolve charges against several other figures in the long-running case, who face retrial in August.

“Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Burkhalter said loans backed by prominent attorneys Richard Scruggs and Paul Minor were not repaid by the Diazes, ‘who used substantial amounts of the money for personal use. They didn’t put it on their tax return.'” (Shelia Byrd, “Diaz attorney says client didn’t deliberately withhold tax information”, AP/Biloxi Sun-Herald, Apr. 25). “Defense attorneys described Diaz as a disorganized fellow who left details such as taxes and finances to his wife and who would not knowingly hide income from the government.” (“Jury acquits Diaz in tax case”, AP/Biloxi Sun-Herald, Apr. 27; Jimmie E. Gates, “Prosecutor: Diaz didn’t report all funds to IRS”, Jackson Clarion Ledger, Apr. 26).

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Update: Mississippi judicial corruption retrial

The retrial of the judicial bribery case against prominent attorney Paul Minor and two former state judges has now been set for Aug. 14, following delays requested by Minor’s attorneys (Anita Lee, “Judicial trial set Aug. 14”, Biloxi Sun-Herald, Feb. 11). And the federal tax evasion trial of Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Oliver Diaz Jr. is now scheduled for Apr. 3 (“Diaz tax trial delayed”, Feb. 21). For more, see Dec. 10 and our many previous links.

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Jackpot justice in Mississippi

“Larry Stewart said shortly after his father gave the agent money for a [million-dollar life insurance] policy, the elder Stewart had a stroke, lapsed into a coma and died about seven weeks later at age 73.” Strangely enough, the agent and Prudential didn’t have a record of the policy. A jury believed the Stewarts, because it’s common for 73-year-old men to have brand-new million-dollar life-insurance policies, and awarded $36.4 million against Prudential (and $9600 against the insurance agent), who will appeal. The $35 million punitive damages award would have been capped had the case been brought after liability reforms were passed in Mississippi in 2003. (Jimmie E. Gates, “$36.4M awarded in lawsuit”, The Clarion-Ledger, Feb. 17).

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Update: $1.3M legal malpractice verdict overturned

We covered the verdict two years ago, noting an editorial that said “Pundits have argued that real tort reform will only come when the lawyers start suing the other lawyers…. that time has arrived.” But the Mississippi Supreme Court held that the lawyers had not committed malpractice as a matter of law.

Perhaps correct, and I shed no tear for the plaintiff’s loss of a windfall. But it sure would be nice if doctors got the same benefit of the doubt. Instead, when medical experts differ over whether a doctor acted reasonably, courts throw up their hands and decide it’s okay for a jury to decide. Lawyers seem not to have to worry about being held to that sort of second-guessing standard. (Baker Donelson Bearman & Caldwell, P.C. v. Muirhead, 2006 WL 177593 (Miss. January 26, 2006).) David Rossmiller discusses the case, but dodges all of the substantive issues.

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Update: feds reindict in Mississippi scandal

“The federal government has indicted three defendants in a judicial bribery case for the fourth time, adding conspiracy to the list of charges against former Biloxi lawyer Paul Minor, former Circuit Court Judge John Whitfield and former Chancery Court Judge Wes Teel.” (Biloxi Sun-Herald; AP; Jackson Clarion-Ledger). In August, a jury acquitted state Supreme Court justice Oliver Diaz Jr. of all charges in the case, acquitted Minor and Whitfield of some charges, and was unable to reach agreement on the other counts against Minor, Whitfield and Teel. For our coverage, see Sept. 18, Aug. 17, Aug. 15, Aug. 11, etc. More legal woes for Minor: Julie Goodman, “Minor may lose bond following La. arrest”, Jackson Clarion-Ledger, Nov. 5 (federal prosecutors allege violations of Minor’s bail requirements after police charge him at crash scene “with operating a vehicle while intoxicated, failure to maintain control, driving without an insurance certificate and reckless driving. …The motorist in the other car, who subsequently hired an attorney, complained of back and chest pain, he said”); “Attorney in bribery case faces new bond conditions”, AP/Biloxi Sun-Herald, Nov. 8; “Judge to consult doctor who tested Paul Minor”, AP/Sun-Herald, Nov. 25.

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Deep pocket files: Foradori v. Captain D’s

On December 22, 2000, 15-year-old Michael Foradori Jr. walked into a Captain D’s seafood restaurant in Tupelo, Mississippi for dinner; while there, he started flirting with the girlfriend of one of the employees, which resulted in a shouting match. “‘This (employee) was kind of picking on him, he started threatening him, he even hit him with a wadded up paper,’ said Joey Langston, Foradori’s attorney.” (More on Langston at Point of Law, May 13.) A manager restored order by kicking everyone out of the restaurant; outside, a cook who clocked out for the evening got into an altercation with Foradori, and pushed him over a wall, breaking his neck and paralyzing him. (Naomi Snyder, “Captain D’s customer gets $20.8M”, Tennesseean, Oct. 13; “Jury awards paralyzed man $21M”, Clarion-Ledger, Oct. 13; Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Oct. 13).

For this, the national Captain D’s chain in Nashville was held responsible to the tune of $20.8 million by a federal jury that deliberated for two hours. Foradori’s attorneys argued that the manager should have “stopped the argument” and that training about workplace violence would have prevented the accident.

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Flood damage excluded? Pay anyway

Standard homeowners’ policies exclude coverage of flood damage unless it is purchased at a substantial additional premium, a fact well known to most property owners in high-risk areas. Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, a familiar figure to readers of this space, had the foresight to purchase flood insurance for his Pascagoula home, now partly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Now he wants the world’s insurers to pay billions for the properties they didn’t collect a premium for insuring, as well — perhaps scores of billions, if the principle is to extend to Louisiana. “Mr. Scruggs said he plans to urge Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood to try to override flood-exclusion clauses in homeowners’ policies in that state in the interest of public policy, a move that could force insurers to pay many billions more toward rebuilding costs.” (Theo Francis, John D. McKinnon and Peter Sanders, “Paying for Flood Damage Looms as Big Challenge”, WSJ, Sept. 8)(sub). An operative with the Mississippi Trial Lawyers Association says he hopes that “people on the Coast and their friends statewide ratchet up the political pressure” to make the insurers pay. (Anita Lee, “Claims Dispute”, Biloxi Sun-Herald, Sept. 9). Megan McArdle thinks it’s all a brilliant way to scare insurers away from offering even conventional coverage in the future (Sept. 8). See also Point of Law, Sept. 9. More: Martin Grace Sept. 8, Sept. 8 again, Sept. 13.

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