Kings of Tort

by Alan and Dawson Lange

Kings of Tort chronicles the sordid tale of judicial bribery in Mississippi. It tells the story of Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs, who was largely credited with bringing down Big Tobacco in the early 1990s. This book gives a detailed narrative of his ascent to a net worth of nearly a billion dollars and his seemingly unfathomable downfall stemming from his role in offering a $40,000 bribe to a local judge. His downfall triggered a landslide of legal proceedings that meticulously documented his actions, including questionable legal dealings spanning nearly twenty years. Parts of this remarkable true story have been told by the New York Times, the LA Times, 60 Minutes, 20/20 and PBS Frontline. Now co-authors Alan Lange and Tom Dawson have meticulously documented the full story relying heavily on information from publicly available documents resulting from court actions, newspaper accounts and interviews with the principles involved in the scandal. Lange is founder of Y’allPolitics, a web site the Wall Street Journal recognized as the definitive source about the Scruggs judicial bribery scandal. Dawson is a recently retired Assistant United States Attorney that was on the original prosecuting team that investigated and prosecuted Scruggs before his guilty pleas in 2008 and 2009.

Genres: Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published September 27, 2010

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading the Fall of the House of Zeus written by someone who had been a friend of Dickie Scruggs, I felt bad that he got as much jail time as he did. Now that I have read the prosecution's version of events I have regained my sanity. He played the system for his own gain and really got himself into trouble by not keeping his word on deals he made with his own partners in litigation. As the saying goes, there is no honor among thieves. Former partners knew that about him and were quick to cut their own deals with the prosecutor. Very well written. I do still stand by my review of the pro-Scruggs book because it was also very well written.

[Ansley Claire]

lent to me by the one & only mr. norman himself!

[Debbie Howell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thorough, well-researched account of the fall of Dickie Scruggs, the Mississippi lawyer famous for suing Big Tobacco. The story itself is fascinating and the authors have done a great job of laying out the whole sordid mess in a detailed, chronological account. It was not a captivating read in the early chapters, but the information was needed to understand what came later. Another problem was that there were so many people involved it was hard to keep straight which crooked lawyer was which. While I appreciated the logical, thorough way the authors told the story, I can't help but thinking that such a great story deserved a little more Southern storytelling skill.

[Rhys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kings of Tort

By Alan Lange and Tom Dawson


Dickie Scruggs is a real person, a recent phonon, a crusader to the damaged and an icon to attorneys seeking the fortunes to be made from the mass litigation and the “magic jurisdictions” created by political influence. Dickie Scruggs is the ‘King of Torts’ of John Grisham’s novel and the central figure of very real, sensational scandals that have held the public attention for the last 2 years.

This book is fascinating as a non-fictional look at the blinding greed and destructive ambition that characterizes our trusted barristers of the judicial system – for good and evil. Those who investigated its many plots and crimes compellingly convey its story.

This is a necessary read for those interested in our judiciary mess and our state electoral processes, the influences so common in the national and the local politics and legislative process, and the singular efforts made to balance the scales of justice by ordinary individuals.

[Lynn Shurden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy enough read compared to Wilkie's book on the same subject. However, please tell me why authors don't know the use of objective pronouns??? Has the English language really changed that much? It is not correct to use "between he and I".

[Vtpowell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating story of southern politics and reads like a mystery novel..

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written book that takes a look at the world of southern politics and law. A very detailed look at the Scruggs case in Mississippi. If you like legal drama, you will like this book.