USA Herald – A federal jury in Alabama has delivered one of the most punishing verdicts ever imposed on an individual attorney, finding that a long-running legal campaign crossed the line into defamation and racketeering and awarding damages that could ultimately total $256 million.
The verdict, handed down in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, stems from a years-long legal battle between coal producer Drummond Co. Inc. and attorney Terrence Collingsworth, a former managing partner at Conrad & Scherer LLP.
Jurors awarded $26 million in compensatory damages and $26 million in punitive damages on defamation claims, along with $68 million under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Under RICO’s mandatory trebling provision, the total financial exposure could reach $256 million, according to court filings and statements from Drummond’s legal team.
The case traces back more than a decade, when Collingsworth began filing lawsuits alleging that Drummond was linked to paramilitary violence against labor leaders in Colombia. Many of those claims were later dismissed, but the accusations persisted in court filings, advocacy campaigns, and international forums.
Drummond responded by launching its own legal offensive, accusing Collingsworth and affiliated entities of fabricating evidence, paying witnesses to testify, and using litigation as a tool to pressure the company financially and reputationally.
Jurors ultimately agreed, finding that the conduct went beyond aggressive advocacy and constituted a coordinated scheme that met the legal threshold for racketeering.
