Judge rejects Nifong's bankruptcy request

A federal judge on Thursday rejected the appeal of fallen prosecutor Mike Nifong to keep his case in bankruptcy court.

The ruling opens the door for the three exonerated lacrosse players to again pursue malicious prosecution allegations against the former district attorney.

In October 2007, Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann filed suit against Nifong, the city of Durham and its police department. The players claimed they suffered personal injury and emotional distress while the prosecutor, police and city pushed ahead with a gang-rape case that was flawed from the start.

In their civil suit, the players allege the concealment and fabrication of evidence, the utterance of false public statements, witness tampering and obstruction of justice.

In a hearing Thursday before James A. Beaty, the federal district court judge assigned to the case, Jim Craven, the lawyer representing Nifong, disputed the players’ claims of personal injury.

It was because of those claims that a federal bankruptcy court judge decided this spring to send the case back to federal District Court, where such issues are usually decided.

Nifong filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 15, a legal maneuver that put the players’ case on hold for months.

In the bankruptcy filing, Nifong listed assets of $243,898 and the potential debt of $180.3 million — including $30 million to each of the lacrosse players who had sued him at the time.

Bankruptcy rules would not have protected Nifong if a judge found that he willfully and maliciously prosecuted the players. So attorneys for the players argued that those legal matters should be heard first.

Only three members of the 2006 Duke lacrosse team have not filed suit.

The players spent nearly 13 months fighting charges that were dropped in April 2007 by state Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Cooper took the unusual additional step of specifically declaring them innocent of the crimes alleged by an escort service dancer hired to perform at a lacrosse team party in March 2006.