Full Answer
How did Dickie Scruggs make his money?
Dickie Scruggs (center right), his wife, Diane, and son, Zach, walk with his attorney to the courthouse where he would be sentenced to five years in prison. Trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs made millions from lawsuits targeting the asbestos and tobacco industries.
How long will Scruggs'$20 million tobacco settlement fee last?
As Wilkie says, Scruggs' tobacco settlement fee arrangements will continue to pay him $20 million a year until the year 2025. Asked if anything has changed in the way Mississippi works, Wilkie says, "I don't think so. It's still pretty much business as usual."
Where is Robert Scruggs now?
Right now, Scruggs is serving a sentence in an Ashland, Ky., prison. But he has held on to his money-and continues to make more. As Wilkie says, Scruggs' tobacco settlement fee arrangements will continue to pay him $20 million a year until the year 2025.
Who is Dickie Scruggs’ wife?
Dickie Scruggs (center right), his wife, Diane, and son, Zach, walk with his attorney to the courthouse where he would be sentenced to five years in prison. Dickie Scruggs (center right), his wife, Diane, and son, Zach, walk with his attorney to the courthouse where he would be sentenced to five years in prison.
How much does Richard Scruggs make a year?
Right now, Scruggs is serving a sentence in an Ashland, Ky., prison. But he has held on to his money — and continues to make more. As Wilkie says, Scruggs' tobacco settlement fee arrangements will continue to pay him $20 million a year until the year 2025.
How much is Richard Scruggs worth?
$1.7 billionThe United States digital wealth publication Moneyinc.com says disbarred Mississippi lawyer Richard Scruggs is the richest current or former attorney in the world, with a net worth of $1.7 billion.
Who is the world's richest lawyer?
Joe Jamail His most famous case came in 1985, when he successfully represented Pennzoil against Texaco in a lawsuit, for which he earned $335 million. Some of the best lawyers have been able to amass incredible wealth during their career.
Who is the wealthiest lawyer in America?
Net Worth: $100 million John Branca, born in Bronxville, New York, is one of the richest lawyers practicing entertainment law today.
How did Dickie Scruggs make money?
Trial lawyer Dickie Scruggs made millions from lawsuits targeting the asbestos and tobacco industries. He was part of a network of powerful businessmen and politicians spanning from Oxford, Miss., to Washington, D.C., who traded favors, influence and money.
How many years did Dickie Scruggs spend in prison?
Dickie Scruggs (center right), his wife, Diane, and son, Zach, walk with his attorney to the courthouse where he would be sentenced to five years in prison. Bruce Newman/Oxford Eagle. Crown. The Fall of the House of Zeus. By Curtis Wilkie.
What did Scruggs do to help the shipyard?
After treading in the backwaters of the state bar as a young lawyer specializing in bankruptcies, Scruggs had a breakthrough in the 1980s, after he devised an innovative way to attract a multitude of clients claiming to suffer from exposure to asbestos. In Pascagoula, the shipbuilding city where he lived, asbestos litigation had become something of a local industry itself. Thousands of workers had passed through the giant Ingalls Shipbuilding facility since World War II, producing countless vessels that helped keep the U.S. Navy afloat. Over the years, the work force at Ingalls had used asbestos to wrap the pipes, reinforce the boilers, and protect the engines of the ships they built. Eventually, it began to dawn on some of them that their jobs had come at a price: inordinate numbers of the shipyard workers were succumbing to mesothelioma, an illness that could be traced directly to handling asbestos.
Why was Scruggs implicated in the reelection of Moore?
Scruggs would be implicated because his $20,000 contribution to Moore's reelection campaign in 1991 would be considered a payoff to Moore for the asbestos contract. Ultimately, both Scruggs and Moore could be subject to indictment.
How long was Dickie Scruggs in jail?
Dickie Scruggs (center right), his wife, Diane, and son, Zach, walk with his attorney to the courthouse where he would be sentenced to five years in prison. Dickie Scruggs (center right), his wife, Diane, and son, Zach, walk with his attorney to the courthouse where he would be sentenced to five years in prison.
Why did Scruggs and Moore fail?
Scruggs and Moore, regarded by the old guard as upstarts, had succeeded after a similar plan by members of the network had failed a few years earlier because of a shortfall in state revenue. Among the members of the cabal, Moore told Scruggs, were State Auditor Steve Patterson and Ed Peters, the Hinds County district attorney with jurisdiction in Jackson, the state capital. These men and their allies not only were disgruntled over Moore's contract with Scruggs; they had determined it was illegal and planned to indict Scruggs—a move that would also serve to short-circuit Moore's climb to political prominence.
Why did Eastland's men gather?
Eastland's men gathered over coffee at local cafés to consider the merits of various candidates rather than holding regular meetings at political clubhouses. But ultimately they took their cues from Eastland, and following the Sphinx-like characteristics of the senator, who rarely made public speeches, they preferred to carry out their work in private. It was Eastland who intervened when Eddie Khayat first faced indictment for income tax evasion in connection with a kickback scheme in the 1960s. The senator summoned Khayat to a rendezvous in his car, parked on a roadside in south Mississippi.
Who is Richard Scruggs?
Richard Scruggs. Richard F. "Dickie" Scruggs (born May 17, 1946) is an American former A6A naval aviator, a formerly prominent trial lawyer, now disbarred, and the brother-in-law of former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott. Scruggs first came to the public eye after successfully suing the asbestos industry on behalf of ill shipyard workers.
What was the first case that Scruggs took on?
One of his first big legal victories was in representing workers at the Pascagoula shipyard who became fatally ill as a result of exposure to asbestos fibers. He encountered his first client in 1984 when he was approached by a shipyard worker looking for help with a lung disease. Scruggs paid for the client's medical tests which revealed the medical ailment to be asbestosis. Scruggs took on 4200 direct clients and served as co-counsel to another 6000.
What did Scruggs do after Katrina?
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Scruggs filed a number of lawsuits against insurance companies regarding payment on claims made for storm damage. One of his clients was his brother-in-law Senator Trent Lott, former Majority Leader of the US Senate and Lott's wife, Tricia, in a lawsuit against State Farm Insurance. Numerous other clients and cases followed, most of which resulted in favorable settlements; however, Scruggs eventually dropped the Lott case following his indictment and disqualification.
What was the name of the squadron that Scruggs was a member of?
Scruggs was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi. Upon graduation and commissioning as a naval officer, Scruggs entered flight training and earned his wings as an A6 bomber pilot in 1970.
When was the Scruggs fundraiser?
Scruggs was scheduled to host a fundraiser at his home for Senator Clinton's presidential campaign, on December 15, 2007, to be attended by former President Bill Clinton. However, that fundraiser was canceled after Scruggs' indictment.
Where did the Scruggs sisters live?
The sisters are close, and their families often spent holidays together. Scruggs lived in a five-million-dollar mansion in Oxford, Mississippi. In 2003, he bought the upper floor of a building on Courthouse Square in Oxford in which he housed the Scruggs Law Firm.
Who played Scruggs in The Insider?
In the 1990s, Scruggs was hired by Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore to assist with a lawsuit against thirteen tobacco companies for state-borne health care costs. Scruggs and his colleagues brought a concerted action, representing several states, which resulted in a settlement of over $248 billion. His performance in this case was portrayed by actor Colm Feore in the movie The Insider. Scruggs himself, as well as his second house in Pascagoula, Mississippi, also appeared in the film.
How did Scruggs help the tobacco industry?
And he helped convince Bennett LeBow to defect from the tobacco industry's united front and turn state's evidence .Under normal contingency fee agreements, Scruggs would stand to make over $1 billion dollars on the tobacco cases. He defused this issue by agreeing to have his fees decided by a national panel of judges. FRONTLINE interviewed Scruggs several times in late 1997 and early 1998.
What did Scruggs show?
Scruggs : It showed that it would be very problematic to win the case. It identified the demographic groups who would be most like to be for us and against us. The poll results were fairly discouraging.
What does Scruggs mean in a tort case?
Scruggs : That means that ordinarily in mass tort cases there is no way to, to try any individual case because the defendant has the advantage. He can beat you one at a time or, even if you beat them one at a time, you have not put them in mortal danger.
Did we get involved in tobacco legislation?
We had gotten involved in tobacco legislation. We had money in our pockets as a result of the asbestos litigation, so all of these...all of these elements, by chance, came together. And I think that almost simultaneously we realized the potential we had there. With a war chest, with legal talent, with an Attorney General, a state official who was willing to do it. Is enthusiastic about doing it. And some bright legal ideas about how to get it done.
Did Scruggs know what judge he would end up with?
Not our classmate again. And not a judge that we knew very well or had any prior dealings with to speak of. But, in fact, we didn't know for sure what judge we would end up with in the case. We went through two judges before we ended up with the judge that actually tried the case.
Where did Don Barrett meet with Scruggs?
When he came to us, he initially came to Don Barrett, I spoke of him earlier. And, uh, asked for a meeting. We had a meeting with him, uh, in a restaurant in Jackson, Mississippi.
When you raise the stakes through consolidations or bringing large numbers of claims together, you have?
You have given them an incentive to settle what would not otherwise be present. And usually a good settlement is far superior to trench warfare, trial-by-trial litigation. Because then only a few clients get paid and the rest have to wait in line.
How much money did Scruggs get in the tobacco case?
In the tobacco case, lawyers are expected to rake in a stunning $12 billion in fees.
What did Scruggs do to Aetna?
7, Scruggs filed suit against Aetna, the nation's largest HMO, claiming it had engaged in a "nationwide fraudulent scheme" to enroll members by promising quality health care and then denying needed services--all in the name of corporate profits.
What legal playbook is Scruggs deploying against managed care?
The legal playbook that Scruggs is deploying against managed care is one he refined during his long battles against the asbestos and tobacco industries. Raise the stakes so high that neither side can afford to lose, because that's when compromises are made. Take your message directly to Wall Street.
What does Aetna say about Scruggs?
Aetna has called Scruggs's accusations "outrageous, " and promised to defend itself aggressively. It claims the suit represents an attack on managed care, which it says has "reduced the rise of medical costs, increased preventive care and made quality health care affordable to more people.".
How much did Scruggs win for Ole Miss?
Scruggs ultimately settled cases on behalf of 4,200 direct clients (and was co-counsel for an additional 6,000), winning about $300 million for them and about $25 million for himself. It was an Ole Miss connection that drew Scruggs into the historic plan to take on Big Tobacco.
What did Scruggs do after suing asbestos?
After suing asbestos makers in the '80s, Scruggs turned on Big Tobacco in the '90s, ultimately helping wring a $240 billion settlement out of the industry. Now he's leading a coalition of lawyers who have targeted another industry consumers love to hate: health insurers.
When did the tobacco industry crack?
The tobacco industry's unified front started to crack in 1996, and with the Mississippi case moving to trial, the industry, after months of negotiations, decided to settle. On June 20, 1997, a triumphant Scruggs and Moore announced the landmark settlement.
Overview
Legal career
Scruggs began his career with a prestigious law firm in Jackson, Mississippi, where he often defended insurance companies. Later he moved back to Pascagoula and opened his own office.
One of his first big legal victories was in representing workers at the Pascagoula shipyard who became fatally ill as a result of exposure to asbestos fibers. He encountered his first client in 1984 when he was approached by a shipyard worker looking for help with a lung disease. Scruggs pai…
Early life
Scruggs was born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, on May 17, 1946, but grew up in Pascagoula, Mississippi. He told Time that his father left the family when Scruggs was five years old. Scruggs was then raised by his mother, Helen, who worked as a legal secretary at the Ingalls shipyard. She was also an alumna of Millsaps College.
Education and military career
Scruggs was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate at the University of Mississippi. Upon graduation and commissioning as a naval officer, Scruggs entered flight training and earned his wings as an A6 bomber pilot in 1970. Scruggs was assigned to an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea during the Arab–Israeli conflict of October 1973, where he was stationed aboard the carrier Franklin D. Roosevelt during the nuclear alert triggered by the Sovie…
Bribery and wire fraud
At the conclusion of one of those Katrina-related trials, a fee dispute arose between Scruggs and other plaintiff's attorneys involved in the case. That fee dispute resulted in a separate trial to determine how to apportion the fees. According to allegations that later surfaced in a criminal prosecution, Scruggs was involved in an attempt to bribe Mississippi Third Circuit Court Judge Henry L. Lackey with $40,000 in exchange for a favorable ruling in the fee dispute. Lackey had c…
Political activity
Scruggs has made monetary contributions to the presidential campaigns of Joe Biden and John McCain; the senatorial campaigns of Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Biden, and McCain; and to numerous other candidates from both major political parties. He also reportedly contributed to Tom Daschle, Susan Collins, and Harry Reid.
Scruggs was scheduled to host a fundraiser at his home for Senator Clinton's presidential campai…
Personal life
In 1971 he married Diane Thompson, a sister of Tricia Thompson Lott, wife of Trent Lott.
Scruggs lived in a five-million-dollar mansion in Oxford, Mississippi. In 2003, he bought the upper floor of a building on Courthouse Square in Oxford in which he housed the Scruggs Law Firm. In 2010, the space was purchased by the firm of W. Roberts Wilson, Jr. following the 2009 settlement of Wilson's longstanding suit against Scruggs for fees resulting from asbestos case…
External links
• Richard Scruggs, Frontline: Inside the Tobacco Deal
• "The Bribe" The New Yorker, May 19, 2008
• November 28 2007 indictment
• August 21 2007 criminal contempt charge