Attorneys’ fees dispute hearing gets underway
by Associated Press
Published: August 3,2011
Tags: attorneys, courts, law, lawyers, settlement, state government
JACKSON — A Mississippi Supreme Court hearing pits attorneys for Republican state Auditor Stacy Pickering against Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood over the constitutionality of a law that allows Hood to hire private lawyers to represent Mississippi in lawsuits.
The high court scheduled a hearing in the case today. Pickering challenged a judge’s decision last year upholding $10 million in fees paid to lawyers for handling a state lawsuit against computer software manufacturer Microsoft.
Microsoft is not a party to Pickering’s lawsuit.
Microsoft reached a $100-million settlement with the State of Mississippi in 2009. It agreed to pay $10 million to private lawyers hired by the Attorney General’s Office to handle the case.
Pickering sued, arguing the fees should be paid with money appropriated by the Legislature.
![[RSS Feed]](http://i2.wp.com/msbusiness.com/wp-content/plugins/tdc-sociable-toolbar/rssfeed.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://i0.wp.com/msbusiness.com/wp-content/plugins/tdc-sociable-toolbar/delicious.png)
To sign up for Mississippi Business Daily Updates, click here.
Top Posts & Pages
- Stabenow, Cochran brace for full Senate vote on Farm Bill
- Counties ‘hoping to get it right’ as they await Tuscaloosa Marine shale boom
- District at Eastover construction to start later this year
- Ex-Northwest Rankin coach David Coates dies before drug trial
- Fervor grows for Tuscaloosa Marine Shale
- PSC’s Mississippi Power probe continues as regulators mull next move
- Keeping Our Eye On Nathan McNeill
- OUR VIEW: USM makes right call by calling off tornado relief campaign
- Forward-thinking power companies transform “disruptions” into opportunities
POST A COMMENT