Looking Like Fools on the Path of No Return
We have reviewed the 149 letters of support during ex-Drummond executive David Roberson’s sentencing hearing and nothing compares to psychiatrist Mark J. Mills who evaluated Roberson and wrote:
In more than thirty years of full-time forensic practice, I have evaluated
nearly 1000 criminal litigants for both the prosecution and the defense (and many civil litigants); unsurprisingly, most were guilty (as determined at trial or plea), some were psychotic, some cognitively impaired, some terminally ill, some intoxicated and some malingering. A few were innocent as determined at trial and a very few, less than a handful, well less than one percent, were fine individuals whose lives contributed greatly to those around them. Insofar as I can tell, Mr. Roberson is that all-too-rare criminal litigant, an honorable man, wrongfully convicted.
In 2018, Drummond Company vowed to stick by “wrongfully convicted” and esteemed executive David Roberson after his criminal conviction.
Six months later, Drummond foolishly reversed course, fired Roberson and reneged funding his charity of choice, a school for autistic children.
Did Balch or a drag queen wrongly advise Drummond that the coal company was off the hook after six-months when the Alabama Legal Services Act’s statute of limitations expired?
Did “confused” Drummond General Counsel Blake Andrews bite the hook, line, and $75 million sinker?
General Counsels appear to be looking like fools while taking the path of no return.
Balch & Bingham’s long-time General Counsel foolishly vowed to fight to the death before settling matters. After four long years of litigation, he died unexpectedly in October.
In those four years, Balch lost millions in revenue, saw the exodus of legacy and money-making partners, and watched as their once-highly respected reputation disintegrated.
Their closest ally and former Balch partner, Mark A. Crosswhite, the current CEO of Alabama Power, is now under pressure to retire or resign as questions mount about his alleged secret deal and inappropriate meeting with Jay E. Town.
Now observers ask, will Drummond Company continue to goose-step with Balch or will reason, common sense prevail? Will Drummond waltz away, far away from Balch’s tarnished record or will they let Drummond’s reputation disintegrate side-by-side Balch’s?
These are serious times with detrimental long-term effects.
Next month, a new President will enter office and has vowed to aggressively prosecute environmental crimes and tackle climate change head-on.
As The Washington Post reported:
Talks among Biden transition officials have also focused on environmental issues, perhaps signaling a more aggressive role for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, according to people familiar with those discussions. Biden’s campaign website vowed that he would establish a separate Environmental and Climate Justice Division within the agency and direct officials to pursue environmental cases “to the fullest extent permitted by law.” In the Trump administration, Biden’s campaign website noted, the Environmental Protection Agency referred the fewest number of criminal anti-polluting cases to the Justice Department in decades.
With the rebirth of the North Birmingham Bribery Case, Drummomd Company, Alabama Power, and Balch & Bingham must take a bird’s-eye view, not about today or even this month, but a year or two down the road.
Look at the recent past.
Balch may have rejoiced in 2017 when they created the unconstitutional Star Chamber during the Newsome Conspiracy Case, celebrated in 2018 when disgraced ex-U.S Attorney Jay E. Town shut down any further investigations in North Birmingham, slapped each other on the back in 2019 when Drummond fired Roberson, and popped champagne bottles when a judge ruled in Balch’s favor all based on a counterfeit order in the summer of 2019.
But now a severe hang-over has set in and Balch appears to be reeling.
Drummond on the other hand has lost both a motion to dismiss and an interlocutory appeal in the Roberson civil case. Drummond’s embarrassing act of cross-dressing like a law firm has caused great amusement in legal circles.
What other games will Drummond hopscotch to before their “confused” General Counsel realizes that these foolish tactics down the path of no return are creating greater scrutiny just in time for the new Biden Administration?
