Alabama’s Supreme Court Continues to Screw Citizens

Guest Column
by Roger Schuler

The Alabama Supreme Court apparently was not content to cheat the public with the outrageous ExxonMobil ruling. It pulled pretty much the same fraudulent stunt again the other day, with a few slight variations.

In late 2007, the Alabama Supremes stunned many observers by overturning most of a $3.6 billion jury verdict in a fraud case against oil giant ExxonMobil. That decision robbed state coffers of badly needed funds at the outset of the Bush recession.

The high court was at it again recently, overturning a $274 million verdict in a fraud case against three pharmaceutical companies. The Supreme Court found that AstraZeneca, Novartis, and GlaxoSmithKline did not defraud the state in pricing Medicaid prescription drugs.

This issue goes well beyond Alabama. Similar lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies are pending in other states, including Mississippi, South Carolina, Utah, Hawaii and Alaska.

How did the Alabama Supreme Court come to its conclusion? The key issue was “reliance,” one of four elements in a fraud case. Essentially, the high court found that the pharmaceutical companies tried to cheat the Alabama Medicaid Agency (AMA), but AMA did not “rely” on the misrepresentations, so a fraud did not occur.

That is like saying: “I tried to steal $500 out of your wallet, and I had my hand on the cash and was pulling it out, but you caught me — so I didn’t do anything wrong.”

If you think there is something wrong with that reasoning, join the crowd.

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This just in from my good friend and source Aaron Viles

NEW ORLEANS, La., Sept. 1 — As I type this Houma is getting hit by Hurricane Gustav, Baton Rouge is being pummeled, and Gulfport is dealing with some wind and high water. Most troubling though, is that New Orleans’ Upper Ninth Ward is beginning to flood as the Industrial Canal flood walls are over-topped.

So far the situation hasn’t become critical, as the flood-wall is holding. But I’m holding my breath.

If the flood-wall breaches, the long term future of NOLA could very well be in question. As I watch anxiously, I’m hit by how unnecessary this all is. If we had our coastal wetlands, if the oil companies and the Army Corps of Engineers hadn’t set the stage for our massive land loss, we would be far more secure. Levees alone are not enough. We need to restore our coastal lines of defense, our wetlands and cypress swamps.

Walter Williams has created a new video which captures our crisis, “Blood and Oil.” Take a break from your CNN/Weather Channel viewing and head over to YouTube and help us take advantage of this teachable moment.

Viles is with the non-profit Gulf Restoration Network. The group is asking people to take action to hold Shell accountable — as one of the largest operators in Louisiana, and the most visibly concerned about the coast, “they can help fund the actual restoration,” he said.

They are also requesting that people ask Senators Obama and John McCain to come to New Orleans and debate a sustainable city.

“We need them to take a break from their highly scripted campaigns and come take questions from real people about the real challenges facing our region,” he said.