Anti-Tobacco Firm to Get $874 Million

A pivotal figure who forced Big Tobacco to the settlement table will get about $874 million of the fees awarded to lawyers who handled tobacco lawsuits in Mississippi, Florida and Texas. Richard Scruggs said his Pascagoula, Miss., firm will receive about 24% of the fees paid in the Mississippi case, or $366 million; 5% from Texas’ settlement, $165 million; and 10% of Florida’s deal, $343 million. Scruggs’ firm was among 12 Mississippi law firms that spent almost $15 million helping the state sue in 1994 to recover costs of treating smoking-related illness. It settled for $4 billion. Some criticized the fees as excessive, but Scruggs said attorneys are being compensated for taking a big risk. “We had no contract with the state and could have won and gotten no more than a certificate suitable for framing,” he said.