EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (CN) - It was a fraction of what the bank asked for, but a Madison County jury awarded $3.6 million to Magna Bank (now Regions Bank) in a legal malpractice suit. Magna originally was awarded more than $11 million, but the jury reduced the award against Thompson Coburn on the question of mitigation of damages by the bank.
Magna claimed Thompson Coburn failed to help set up a constructive trust for money that personal injury plaintiffs invested in SBU Inc., owned by James Gibson, and advised Magna not to appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court when Gibson moved to end Magna's trusteeship over the bonds, which gave Gibson sole ownership.
Gibson is in prison for stealing the money and using it to buy homes, cars and yachts, court papers state.
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