By Paul Gable
A S.C. District Court judge has put off further hearings for three months with respect to remaining litigation funds from the Southern Holdings case while he considers various motions that have been ignored since 2008.
One of those motions regards the missing approximately $60,000 that was never included in an accounting provided to the court by attorneys John Rakowsky and Adrian Falgione. Rakowsky’s trust fund was allegedly used for the accounting.
According to information provided to the court, LawMax, Litfunding and Resolution Settlement Corporation advanced at least $125,000 to Southern Holdings plaintiffs’ attorneys Rakowsky and Falgione to be used for funding expenses, not including lawyer’s fees, associated with the case.
When Rakowsky provided accounting information for those funds to the court, the beginning balance was only $67,500 with no further credits to the account. From that beginning amount, various expenses were charged leaving a remaining balance of $9,855.00, according to Rakowsky’s accounting.
Attorneys representing Rakowsky filed an Interpleader in S.C. District Court in 2008 asking the court to determine final disbursement of the $9,855.00.
In that filing, LawMax and Litfunding were listed as possible claimants, but Resolution Settlement Corporation was never listed. One interesting note is the amounts provided by LawMax and Litfunding do not total $67,500, according to records submitted to the court.
Over the last five years, there have been various hearings during which the judges conducting the hearings ignored motions submitted and details of the accounting.
Now a new set of judicial eyes has been brought into the case and this one appears ready to concentrate on the details of the case.
Maybe this is a form of Christmas present for the Southern Holdings plaintiffs, an honest judge eager to study and rule on the details of the case, rather than one who is subject to ex parte hearings and other manipulations of the legal system, as has been the norm in the past.
It is so very simple. This Rakowsky guy takes the money and the money disappears. He will not give an honest accounting of the money he is trying to hide. He gets his own group of attorneys who are willing to sell their soul for a few pieces of silver to cover Rakowsky’s crimes. This Rakowsky is made a local judge by the very state that is under the legal microscope. This appears to be a pay off to Rakwowsky for following the company line and helping to destroy the honest folks in Southern Holdings. Now tell me what is wrong with this picture. Just how much evidence does a person have to gather before the South Carolina crooks are willing to settle and slither back under their rock. The next thing we will probably hear is that the actual defendants paid Rakowsky to “sell out” his own clients in exchage for more money that he could put in his pocket. Of course that would be criminal and even below Rakowsky’s substandard legal ethical standards (or would it be).