Judge to rule quickly on $63M suit against (Alabama) governor

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Source: Access Montgomery

A Montgomery judge said Thursday he hopes to rule by next week on a lawsuit against the governor that could wipe out more than 3 percent of the state General Fund budget.

Circuit Judge William Shashy listened to about an hour of arguments Thursday on a lawsuit filed against Gov. Bob Riley by one of his harshest critics, Tuscaloosa businessman Stan Pate. The suit contends Riley violated the state constitution when he put $63 million in winnings from a separate lawsuit into the state General Fund.

Pate maintains the money should have gone into a state savings account called the Alabama Trust Fund. The state attorney general's office, which is defending Riley, disagrees.

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The litigation stems from Alabama's long-running lawsuit against Exxon Mobil over royalties due from natural gas wells the company drilled in state-owned waters along the Alabama coast. The state won a $3.6 billion verdict in 2003, but the Supreme Court threw out most of that in November.

Access Montgomery

Read more: http://www.accessmontgomery.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/NEWS02/804110318/1009

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The lawsuit against the Governor should now create a situation where nearly every lawmaker in the state of Alabama is under the threat of a lawsuit.