Day: April 5, 2011

It has been a great ride on WordPress folks….

But all good things must come to an end.  Since I announced over a week ago that we were moving to Slabbed.org, Nowdy and I have been trying to work out the parameters of our business relationship on a go forward basis.  The long and short of it is we’ve reached an impasse so we’re going our separate ways. Unless something greatly unforseen happens this will be my last post on this URL.

There is nothing here on WordPress that tethers me to this site so I am moving to the new domain within the next few days as my workload allows while Nowdy blogs (or not) here. Nowdy has made some fantastic contributions to the post Katrina body of knowledge and it is a contribution that I will never forget and always value.  She has been a great friend to the people of the Gulf Coast.

Remember folks that change is simply another word for opportunity.  I hope to see y’all soon on Slabbed.org.

sop

To plea or not to plea? Mouton made his decision

Here we go, folks!  The Times-Picayune reports Henry Mouton begins plea talks to resolve landfill bribery charges! Paul Rioux has the story:

Henry Mouton, a former state Wildlife and Fisheries commissioner, is trying to negotiate a plea deal to resolve federal charges that he took $464,000 in bribes from a rival landfill owner in a conspiracy to close the Old Gentilly Landfill, according to a court filing Tuesday.

Mouton’s attorney cited the plea talks in a motion seeking to postpone an April 21 pretrial conference and a May 9 trial date.

“A plea agreement has not been finalized and defendant desires to continue the pretrial conference and the trial date to allow the completion of these discussions,” wrote attorney Mary Olive Pierson, who said prosecutors support postponing the court dates until after May 15.

U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman had not ruled on the motion by the close of business Tuesday evening, according to online court records.

Slabbed reports. You tell us who is sleeping well tonight!

In this episode of Magnum J.D.: April fools or MAD, Team Magnum files an answer and reconventional demand in the lawsuit involving his former partners. (The problem with telling lies is keeping them straight)

Folks Team Magnum, in what I can only describe as an April fools joke, filed an Answer and Reconventional Demand in the suit involving his brother and other former partners at the firm of Gauthier Houghtaling & Williams who left the firm I’m told because of the massive conflict of interests Team Magnum has playing both sides against the middle representing clients against BP while simultaneously representing BP.

The answer contains all the stock denials that one would expect in the early stages of a lawsuit but Team Magnum is taking this a step further with their Reconventional Demand on page 13 of the pdf I linked above. In paragraph 145 Magnum essentially admits to his blatant conflict of interest involving BP while he centers his attack against his former partners making allegations of client poaching that really have no context absent the conflict of interest involving Houghtaling’s company Ocean Therapy Solutions doing business with BP while he trolled for clients to sue BP and Magnum’s lust to sign a legal representation contract with BP. Let’s revisit a the key point in paragraph 145 and compare to the contemporary news report we featured back in June 2010 from Fox 8:

While Huber, Slack, Brian Houghtaling, Pandit and Thomas were encouraged to generate new business for the firm (with GHW Continue reading “In this episode of Magnum J.D.: April fools or MAD, Team Magnum files an answer and reconventional demand in the lawsuit involving his former partners. (The problem with telling lies is keeping them straight)”

Jeremy Alford has a little something for everyone with Jindy's Cash Cows…

Folks, rarely has a writer managed to weave so many angles of interest to the Slabbed Nation into one article as nicely as free-lance writer Jeremy Alford does for Gambit in his article Cash Cows. (H/T Editilla) There is only one place I know of that has woven players like Worley Catastrophe, Bermdoggle, Allan “Show me the Money” Kanner plus TheRiot and Magnum JD into a narrative and that of course is right here.  Jeremy gets an A+.

sop

just absolutely a class act – Judge Senter corrects the record (a Rigsby qui tam update)

“It has come to my attention that my Memorandum Opinion Concerning State Farm Fire and Casualty Company’s Motion To Dismiss For Relators’ Violation Of Seal Order, Docket Number 871, contains a factual error stated at the top of page 11 and repeated near the bottom of page 13. The opinion states that the Relators have previously been represented by the Scruggs Katrina Group, and this is not the case. Relators were previously represented by The Scruggs Law Firm, LLC, and not by the Scruggs Katrina Group. By this order, I am amending this Memorandum Opinion to correct this error.”

The Order makes no mention of how this matter came to his attention. My guess is from his exceedingly careful reading of documents he’s reviewing before deciding matters currently before the Court. Not that he wouldn’t otherwise, but Don Barrett’s recently filed Motion for Fees pointing out “defense lawyers have been banking their money for years” from Katrina litigation and piling  on more work for an already overworked court staff in the process.

In that regard, I suspect – actually I hope – Judge Senter will do as he’s done in the past and allow a document to be filed once and referenced in all briefs thereafter. My experience reading briefs in ex rel Rigsby is like reading the first chapter of a newly purchased Agatha Christi and realizing you paid for a new cover and title to a book you’d already read!

My hope and Agatha aside, Judge Senter’s Order clearly documents his intent to ensure everything about ex rel Rigsby v State Farm accurately reflects the facts of the case. The text revised as a result of his correction is below the jump. Continue reading “just absolutely a class act – Judge Senter corrects the record (a Rigsby qui tam update)”

Hey, Phil, "Ours is a nation of laws, not judges"

from CottonMouth via the folks at Y’all:

This afternoon in a closed door meeting of Republican Senators, Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant told the crowd that 5th Circuit Chief Judge Edith Jones would “take care of” legislative Republicans because Gov. Haley Barbour handled her nomination to the 5th Circuit when he was in the Reagan White House. Bryant went on to regale the caucus with his opinion that Chief Judge Jones would likely appoint Judge Leslie Southwick as the judge from the 5th Circuit, and that if that happened, “Democrats would come to us looking for a deal.”

The Lt. Governor’s remarks on redistricting reminded me of this jewel in my drafts file: (h/t Above the Law)

… neither this court, nor any other court, can tolerate a situation where a judge decides to follow his/her own custom and concepts of justice rather than the precedent of the applicable appellate court or the United States Supreme Court. Ours is a nation of laws, not judges.

All for now, Nowdy