Katrina Contempt Charges Concerning Insurers' Documents
If you are not yet convinced that insurers face extraordinarily unfair tactics, read last Friday's (6/15/07) federal court decision concerning whether attorney Richard Scruggs should be held in contempt, E.A Renfroe v. Cori Rigbsby Moran.
Plaintiffs lawyer Richard Scruggs obtained claims documents from independent adjusters and then, hired the adjusters to work as "consultants" on his Katrina team for $150,000 per year. The adjusters now appear in television ads for the Scruggs law firm.
The "retention" and "hiring" is simply a vehicle to buy an adversary's internal documents. Allowing purchases of adversaries' records undermines our legal system.
But, that's not the worst part. After Scruggs was ordered to return the documents, he instead gave the documents to Mississippi A.G. Jim Hood.
The judge was not amused. He ordered that an attorney for the government prosecute Scruggs for criminal contempt.
