JACKSON — The Mississippi Supreme Court has reinstated the appeal of a lawsuit against a former federal prosecutor and a political blogger over a book they co-wrote about the judicial corruption case involving former attorney Richard “Dickie” Scruggs.
In 2011, FBI agent Hal Neilson sued authors Tom Dawson and Alan Lange and a publishing company.
The lawsuit alleged Dawson, a retired assistant U.S. attorney, and Lange, who runs the Y’all Politics blog, lied and made slanderous statements about Neilson in the book, “King of Torts,” as retaliation for Neilson filing a 2001 complaint against Dawson.
A Lafayette County judge ruled for the authors in 2012.
The Oxford Eagle reports that the Supreme Court initially dismissed the appeal because court fees were not paid. The appeal was reinstated March 7.
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