EAST ST. LOUIS – River worker Troy Hawks of Kentucky settled a suit against Luhr Brothers marine services of Columbia a day before a hearing on a motion to dismiss the suit as a sanction for perjury.
Luhr Brothers claimed Hawks forged a supervisor’s signature on an injury report and denied the forgery under oath.
Hawks’ counsel Hugh Lambert of New Orleans and Luhr Brothers counsel Ronald Fox of St. Louis advised U.S. District Judge David Dugan of settlement on April 26.
Dugan had planned to hear the sanction motion on April 27.
Hawks sued Luhr Brothers in 2019, claiming he suffered severe and permanent injuries to mind and body in an accident on the Mississippi River.
Under questioning by Fox at a deposition last October, Hawks said that captain Jim Biggs had signed his injury report.
Hawks said, “We talked about it, you know, went over it with him and he signed it.”
Fox said, “After you talked about it, captain Biggs signed, and then did you leave the accident report with him?”
Hawks said yes, Fox asked again, and Hawks said, “Signed his name, yes.”
Biggs had already said he didn’t sign it, and said so at a deposition last December.
Lambert asked how he knew it wasn’t his signature.
Biggs said, “I don’t sign Jimmy Briggs. It’s Jim or James. And then that’s not my handwriting.”
Luhr Brothers moved for dismissal as a sanction in February, claiming Hawks’ conduct resulted in material harm to Luhr Brothers and the judicial process.
In March, Lambert responded that the depositions revealed differing recollections.
“Even if the plaintiff was wrong regarding who signed the injury report, the idea that he willfully misstated what happened is implausible speculation,” Lambert wrote.
He claimed the injury report wasn’t signed under oath and its contents could never lead to perjury.
Dugan set a hearing but canceled it upon notice of settlement and gave the parties 30 days to sign necessary documents.