By Mike Cason

January 24, 2022 -The Alabama Supreme Court today reversed the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by former Drummond Company vice president and lobbyist David Roberson, who was convicted in 2018 of bribing a state lawmaker.

Roberson sued Drummond Company, his former employer, and the Balch & Bingham law firm in 2019, alleging they concealed and misrepresented information that contributed to his conviction.

David Roberson, left, and Joel Gilbert, right, were convicted in July 2018 on six criminal charges each for their roles in a bribery conspiracy.

A Jefferson County Circuit Court judge dismissed Roberson’s lawsuit in September 2020, agreeing with Balch & Bingham that the case was barred because of time limitations imposed by the Alabama Legal Services Liability Act.

Today, in a 4-3 decision, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed that and sent the case back to the circuit court.

The Supreme Court agreed with Roberson that his case did not fall under the Alabama Legal Services Liability Act because he was not a legal client of the defendants but was suing for common law fraud.

A federal jury convicted Roberson and former Balch & Bingham lawyer Joel Gilbert of bribery, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering after a four-week trial in 2018. The case involved bribes paid to former state Rep. Oliver Robinson of Birmingham through a foundation Robinson operated.

Balch & Bingham paid Robinson to conduct a public relations campaign to oppose the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed listing of a north Birmingham area on a national priorities list for pollution cleanup. Drummond could have responsible for the cost of the cleaning the soil. Drummond reimbursed Balch & Bingham for the payments to Robinson, which were processed by Roberson.

Robinson pleaded guilty and testified for the government. He was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. Gilbert was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by a supervised release period of two years. Roberson was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison, followed by one year of supervised release.

The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Gilbert’s and Roberson’s convictions in May 2021.

In Roberson’s lawsuit, he claims he acted on assurances by Gilbert that the contract with Robinson had been cleared as ethical and legal by Balch & Bingham attorneys. He claims that Gilbert did not inform him after Balch & Bingham later determined that Robinson’s conduct was illegal.

According to the lawsuit, Roberson wrote a $5,000 check on behalf of Drummond to pay for winter coats for children in north Birmingham as part of the public relations campaign opposing the EPA listing. The lawsuit says Roberson did not learn until his criminal trial that Robinson received $2,500 of the $5,000 check, and that payment to Robinson was used as damaging information against Roberson in the trial.

Six of the nine Alabama Supreme Court justices recused from today’s decision. Four special justices were appointed.

Ruling in Roberson’s favor were Justice Sarah Stewart and special justices Champ Lyons, Jim Main, and Samuel Henry Welch.

Chief Justice Tom Parker, Justice Brad Mendheim, and special Justice Pamela Baschab dissented.