Details emerge in deal to end lawsuit by state of Oklahoma against Phillips 66
The state's portion of the payout went to the
While the case against
Pruitt, who typically issues news releases touting legal victories, didn't publicize the settlement award or issue a news release. The only public mention of it came in meeting minutes at the
A message with the McCallum law firm wasn't returned on Thursday.
Pruitt's lawsuit alleged
Ferguson said the settlement wasn't required to be filed in district court. The attorney general's office contracted with the McCallum law firm because of its expertise on storage tank lawsuits. The contract was not subject to bidding since there's no state law requiring that in
Pruitt, who was nominated by President-elect
The
"
Pruitt's
'Double-dipping' allegations
Allegations of companies double-dipping into the petroleum tank indemnity fund preceded Pruitt, who took office in
The
Both
The state
Outside law firms
Ferguson, Pruitt's spokesman, said the contract for the McCallum law firm wasn't available Thursday. He said contingency attorneys don't fall under the same requirements as the contracts for outside attorneys paid with taxpayer funds.
Pruitt's office also has a contingency-fee arrangement with
The lawsuit said there were about 3,855
"He went his own way because he was concerned the settlement was being used as a regulatory device to punish banks," Nolette said.
Hiring attorneys on a contingency basis makes sense for both Republican and Democratic attorneys general, Nolette said.
"The beauty of it from a political point of view is that technically it is not taxpayer money," Nolette said. "You can argue that it is taxpayer money if a third of it goes out the door, but that money is coming from a corporation. It's not coming from state coffers. That's also been part of the motivation on the part of attorneys general to get around cuts to state agencies."
On environmental litigation, Pruitt also has used outside counsel, most notably on the state's challenge to the Obama administration's Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
The
Attorney
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