Senator Rod Adair Questions Possible Fraud

New Mexico Senate Minority Office


For Immediate Release Friday, January 29, 2010 Contact: 575-626-2876
Could Jackson Attorney’s Admission of overcharges be evidence of possible fraud?


Santa Fe—The typical New Mexican may be wondering if the strange statement by the lead attorney in the Jackson lawsuit is evidence that plaintiffs’ attorneys have been willfully overcharging the state. That is the reaction State Senator Rod Adair had of what an attorney reportedly said about his charges to the state of New Mexico.

“It just jumped off the page,” Senator Adair said of an Albuquerque Journal article with the headline BILL AIMS TO END LAWYERS’ PAYMENT. The lead attorney involved in a lawsuit regarding the developmentally disabled and the state of New Mexico might have been overcharging the state because he is now reportedly saying he will reduce his fee requests next year because the state is broke. “It begs the question: were the lawyers increasing their “fees” and “costs” to keep pace with state revenues and expenditures?” Senator Adair asked. “According to a statement by the lead attorney in the Jackson case, it appears plaintiffs’ attorneys charged fees based on what the state had in the treasury rather than basing fees on anything related to actual costs incurred.”

Today’s Journal article quoted Peter Cubra, the lead attorney in the Jackson lawsuit and went on to report: “Mindful of the state’s budget problems, the attorneys plan to reduce their fee requests over the next year, he also said.”

Senator Adair has charged that taxpayer dollars going to lawyers could have been going to the state’s most vulnerable population. Millions has been flowing to trial lawyers and expert witnesses in a 20 year old lawsuit. Adair said he wants the gravy train for lawyers to end and divert the funding to the developmentally disabled.

Unknown to taxpayers, the State of New Mexico has been shoveling almost $5 million a year to a small clique of lawyers and their hand-picked associates who have been serving as “expert witnesses” and “consultants” in a lawsuit that has been kept alive for 22 years and appears to be benefiting only the attorneys who are charging millions.

“Enough is enough,” said State Senator Rod Adair, “We have paid nearly $75 million just to plaintiffs’ attorneys—and that money should be going to the developmentally disabled instead. Every year we do this we are effectively cheating our most vulnerable citizens out of $20 million.” (The Federal Government would match the $5 million with an additional $15 million if the funds were spent on the disabled instead of given to lawyers.)