Attorney Peter Protopapas & Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal | Rikard & Protopapas, LLC | Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Wikipedia Commons)
Attorney Peter Protopapas & Chief Justice Jean Hoefer Toal | Rikard & Protopapas, LLC | Administrative Office of the United States Courts (Wikipedia Commons)
A South Carolina attorney, Peter Protopapas, has been ordered by a U.K. court to pay a penalty of 1 million British pounds, equivalent to approximately $1.3 million. The payment is due by the end of the month and is intended to compensate a foreign company that accused him of attempting to illegally seize control to collect funds for U.S. asbestos plaintiffs.
The order follows a previous ruling by the U.K. High Court of Justice in November, which directed Protopapas to stop interfering with Cape Plc's operations. Cape Plc is an industrial-services company based on Jersey Island in the English Channel. Despite having no business or assets in South Carolina, Judge Jean H. Toal appointed Protopapas as receiver for Cape.
Judge Toal's practice involves appointing receivers over companies to extract money from their insurers for asbestos claimants and their lawyers. This approach has expanded beyond defunct companies within South Carolina to solvent firms with minimal ties to the state, including Anglo American and DeBeers.
The South Carolina Supreme Court recently heard arguments regarding Judge Toal's jurisdiction over a solvent Canadian company, which could test her authority further.
Protopapas faces potential criminal penalties in the U.K. if he continues representing Cape or its parent company, Altrad Group, owned by French billionaire Mohed Altrad. He has sought an injunction against Altrad’s lawyers, but this motion was denied by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
The court criticized the U.K.'s global injunction against Protopapas as "shocking and indefensible." Protopapas did not attend the U.K. hearings where evidence was presented by a process server who claimed Protopapas refused service notice at his office.
Cape sought over $3.7 million in legal fees from Protopapas; however, Justice Anthony Mann reduced this amount due to concerns about costs.
Ultimately, the South Carolina Supreme Court will decide if Judge Toal can appoint receivers over out-of-state companies without business in South Carolina. Meanwhile, one target settled litigation by paying an undisclosed sum related to asbestos claims.
In another case overseen by Judge Toal, Penn National Insurance agreed to buy back insurance policies issued decades ago to Covil Corp., sealing the settlement amount citing confidentiality concerns about liquidating receivership assets equitably.
Funds from such settlements are managed privately in Delaware funds for asbestos plaintiffs and their lawyers' compensation, with Protopapas receiving 40% as fees along with other law firms like Morgan Lewis of New York.
Information from this article can be found here.
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