Yall Politics

YP EXCLUSIVE - Dickie Scruggs former tobacco venture partners file suit against him alleging fraud

Here we go again
by Alan Lange
9/11/9

Former Scruggs venturers Lee Young and Charles Mikhail have filed a lawsuit today in US District Court alleging, among other things, that Dickie Scruggs materially breached an agreement on the payment of tobacco fees.

This is the next in a long line of lawsuits alleging bad faith and fraud against Scruggs. Other lawsuits have been brought by Alwyn Luckey, Roberts Wilson (twice), and Johnny Jones and their related entities.

The nexus of the disagreement stems from the Alwyn Luckey judgement. Young and Mikhail claim that Scruggs unilaterally began to deduct moneys from their quarterly tobacco payments after the Luckey suit. Furthermore, they allege that Scruggs deducted $3,000,000 worth of fees that went in the criminal scheme for Judge DeLaughter to pay Joey Langston, Tim Balducci and Ed Peters from gross funds that they should have been paid from.

There is a tremendous amount of material in the 86 page complaint and attached exhibits, which includes the original signed copy of their tobacco fee split agreement with Young and Mikhail.

We will be updating this post with more shortly.

Posted September 11, 2009 - 11:20 am

16 Comments:

Interesting development.

I only have a second and will try and get more about this later, but Scruggs has requested a stay, and for a case to be moved to arbitration in the Laf. County lawsuit filed by Derek Wyatt.

I’ll get it up later today. But Scruggs’ legal battles are growing and growing. How many do yall think there will be?

Posted by yallpintern on 09-11-2009 at 12:03 PM [link]

Interesting quote from Scruggs accountant Rex DeLoach. He encouraged Young and Mikhail to “share and share alike in the good and the bad” as far as tobacco fees (p14 of the Exhibit).

Posted by Alan on 09-11-2009 at 12:09 PM [link]

If you tried to click the links and they didn’t work, they should be fixed now.

Posted by yallpintern on 09-11-2009 at 12:55 PM [link]

One could make a living just suing Scruggs for all his breach of contract behavior. He felt so above the law, criminal and civil, since he was so successful in skating and/or bribing his way through almost every case. Let’s hope the game turns around with a hefty settlement/verdict to Wilson who was victimized more than once by that scum Scruggs and his bribers and bribees. Maybe Hood could return back to Scruggs some of the campaign funds Scruggs directed his way during his last election. Both are equally disgusting. If Hood thinks South Mississippi is going to vote for him for governnor he better do some polling first.

Posted by catty on 09-11-2009 at 02:01 PM [link]

Who is representing Scruggs?

Posted by law2b on 09-11-2009 at 03:42 PM [link]

excellent find, Alan. And by the way....2008-BD-00486-SCT, The Mississippi Bar v. David Zachary Scruggs....where Zack was disbarred.....Guess who his lawyer was. Charles J. Mikhail.

Posted by Just Me on 09-11-2009 at 03:56 PM [link]

Unbelievable. I have been doing a lot of research lately. It is absolutely obscene how many times this group of lawyers represents each other.

Posted by Alan on 09-11-2009 at 04:08 PM [link]

NMC has picked up the story, but I hate to say it, this was Alan’s find.

Anyway, it’s to soon to know who is repping Scruggs in this case, but here’s who he has hired in Wilson vs. Scruggs:

Gerald Haggart Jacks
JACKS, ADAMS & NORQUIST, P.A.

J. Cal Mayo , Jr.
MAYO MALLETTE, PLLC

Jamie Ferguson Jacks
JACKS, ADAMS & NORQUIST, P.A.

Paul Bowie Watkins , Jr.
MAYO MALLETTE, PLLC

Pope S. Mallette
MAYO MALLETTE, PLLC

Posted by yallpintern on 09-11-2009 at 05:17 PM [link]

Do you think they want to keep the money in the “family”?

Posted by owens on 09-12-2009 at 07:19 AM [link]

I haven’t been on this board for awhile. Does anyone know if Steve Patterson has completed his sentence?
Myke Britt

Posted by tupelo on 09-15-2009 at 10:36 AM [link]

Patterson hasn’t completed his sentence. Here’s the info on all of them, as of today.

Dickie Scruggs, Release date 02/20/2015
Sid Backstrom, Release date 08/15/2010
Zack Scruggs, Release date 08/19/2009. He is out.
Steve Patterson, Release date 12/19/2010
Joey Langston, Release date 11/25/2011
Tim Balducci, Release date 12/19/2010

Posted by Just Me on 09-15-2009 at 12:27 PM [link]

Thanks, Just Me, I had spoken with his mother by phone when he was first sentenced and she said he only had to serve 6 months.
I knew Steve as a boy and it is difficult to believe such an outstanding young man allowed the lure of materialism to destroy his life.

Posted by tupelo on 09-15-2009 at 12:35 PM [link]

No problem, Tupelo. Everything surrounding all of these cases is enough to take anyone’s breath away.

Posted by Just Me on 09-15-2009 at 03:40 PM [link]

Just Me, I lived in Corinth for a short time in 1963 then in Tupelo until 1965. I love Mississippi (I’m a West Tennessean) but it was a different world 45 years ago from what I had been used to just 50 miles to the north in Jackson, Tn.

Posted by tupelo on 09-15-2009 at 04:30 PM [link]

You have to look back(way back) and understand that the name Scruggs carried with it a degree of” shock and awe”....a nationally reknown attorney made rich and famous by the large settlement in the tobacco suit and even more well known by the movie starring Al Pacino. Folks seeking public office sat at his knee seeking campaign funds while local folks fully understood the “fix had been in” on the tobacco deal and had nothing but disdain for this man and the people who helped him succeed. Alot of ambitious lawyers were suckered and some of them now are serving prison time: some still shouldn’t be sleeping well at night wondering when their names will surface. He seemed bulltet proof; he skirted around several indictments and hid behind his brother-in-law’s power. The web of entanglements(legal and illegal)is vast and maybe will never be untangled by the Feds unless P. L. Blake tries to plead. The danger to the general public is not knowing which lawyers are clean and which are dirty after they all roll around in the mud together. And that is part of Scruggs’ style of conduct. It is very regretful for the families of these poor folks who have been ruined by the greed and hate from the original source of infection....Scruggs.

Posted by catty on 09-15-2009 at 05:08 PM [link]

Any way to look at the docket on this one? Has anything been happening since the complaint was filed 9/9/09?

Posted by Just Me on 11-07-2009 at 12:11 PM [link]

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