$704,000 VERDICT COULD BE SET ASIDE

(12/21/2006)

Large verdict could be set aside By David Hedges, Publisher Times Record-Roane County Reporter What may be the largest verdict in a civil suit in Roane County history could be set aside after the defendants said they weren't part of the dispute over oil and gas rights. William and Harrolyn Groves were awarded a default judgment of $704,000 against Nitro Energy Inc. of Saginaw, Mich. Judge Robert G. Chafin Jr. awarded the default judgment in September after Nitro Energy, one of several defendants, failed to respond to the suit. In a motion to dismiss filed after the judgment, Ripley attorney Larry Skeen said his clients did not know the judgment had been entered. Skeen said Nitro officials believed an attorney representing another defendant who was dismissed from the suit was also representing them. Skeen said Nitro was not involved with the property in question, and did not profit from any drilling activity. The suit involves oil and gas interests in a 158-acre tract purchased at a tax sale a decade ago. Several other defendants have been dismissed from the suit, and two more were dismissed in an order filed last week. Current circuit Judge Tom Evans III was sued for legal malpractice for a title opinion he gave on the property before he became judge. Chafin's recent order dismissed Evans from the suit, saying the title work was done properly ... Read rest of the story   www.thetimesrecord.net

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