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by WILL FOLKS
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A controversial $75 million payout to a trio of politically connected law firms for their work on a plutonium removal deal with the federal government has been upheld by the South Carolina supreme court – delivering a key legal victory to the Palmetto State’s top prosecutor.
Attorney general Alan Wilson was sued over the payouts by the S.C. Public Interest Foundation (SCPIF) – a nonprofit organization “dedicated to ensuring that South Carolina governments, agencies and officials act in strict compliance with the state Constitution and statutes.”
According to SCPIF, Wilson did not have the discretion to award these fees – including a massive pay day to his former law firm, formerly known as Willoughby and Hoefer. That authority, they concluded, resided with the S.C. General Assembly.
SCPIF attorneys – including Jim Carpenter – also argued the fees Wilson authorized on a $600 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) were “unreasonable.”
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According to a ruling (.pdf) authored by justice George C. “Buck” James Jr. – with the concurrence of chief justice John Kittredge and associate justices John Few, Garrison Hill and Letitia Verdin) – the court disagreed.
“The attorney general has the authority to enter into contingent fee agreements with private law firms,” the justices unanimously upheld.
To recap: this case revolves around the Palmetto State receiving compensation from the federal government for its failure to remove weapons-grade plutonium from the botched mixed oxide fuel (MOX) facility at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken County, S.C.
Scheduled for completion in 2007 at a cost of $1.6 billion – the MOX program blew through a staggering $14 billion without producing a functioning facility. Four years ago, the DOE indicated the project was approximately 60 percent complete – but said it would cost another $10-12 billion to finish. Oh, and wouldn’t be operational until nearly 2050.
In 2018, former U.S. energy secretary Rick Perry wisely pulled the plug on the project – claiming it was $13 billion over budget and 32 years behind schedule.
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RELATED | SANTEE COOPER DEAL ANNOUNCED
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Under the terms of the agreement negotiated by the law firms, if DOE does not remove the plutonium by 2037 – all of the previously agreed upon statutory penalties would revert. In other words, the existing sanctions – which allow for the state to recoup up to $100 million a year – would be applied “based on how much plutonium is left in the state.”
FITSNews editorialized extensively on this case back in 2020 when it was first making headlines – arguing that while the fees awarded to the politically connected firms were “massive,” so was the payoff to the Palmetto State.
Specifically, we noted that “had there been no case, there would be no settlement – and had there been no settlement, there would be no money.”
“This was not a taxpayer investment,” we argued at the time. “The law firm assumed all of this risk.”
The justices agreed, noting the three firms tapped by Wilson “undertook a substantial risk in entering into the fee agreement.”
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While Wilson has emerged victorious in a court of law, that does not make the optics associated with these payouts any better for him. In fact, given his status as a frontrunner in the 2026 race for governor, we fully expect one or more of his rivals to seize upon those negative optics.
Bottom line: just because we believe Wilson acted appropriately and within the law on this matter (as evidenced by the court’s ruling) that doesn’t mean he won’t incur political brain damage as a result of his original decision.
Also, to be perfectly clear on another point: SCPIF’s defeat in this case is by no means an indictment of its work. In fact, we wholeheartedly support this organization – founded by the late government gadfly Ned Sloan – in its quest “to defend South Carolina’s Constitution against violation by state and local governments; to deter their breach of state statutes; to ensure that tax monies are expended in compliance with the law; and in general to promote governmental adherence to the rule of law.”
Given the rampant institutional corruption which exists in the Palmetto State, this is the definition of a critical mission – and SCPIF and its attorneys are providing critical leadership on a host of important cases across South Carolina.
We are grateful groups like SCPIF are challenging institutions when they step out of line… and would encourage our audience to support such organizations as they strive to protect citizens and taxpayers from government overreach and malfeasance.
BANNER VIA: HIGH FLYER SC
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THE RULING…
(S.C. Supreme Court)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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1 comment
Will Folks supporting a big contingency fee paid to politically connected trial lawyers. The beauty of inconsistency is that you aren’t always wrong…