Drummond Co., an Alabama-based coal producer, sued Terry Collingsworth, a human rights attorney, and his organization International Rights Advocates (IRAdvocates) in federal court in Birmingham, alleging that Collingsworth fabricated and promoted false claims that Drummond had financed paramilitary killings in Colombia and paid witnesses to support those allegations in prior litigation [1]. The claims surviving to trial included defamation and civil RICO violations premised on a pattern of alleged witness payments and manufactured evidence [1].
A federal jury returned a verdict against Collingsworth and IRAdvocates in January 2026, finding liability on both the defamation and RICO claims [1]. The jury's base compensatory award was $52 million; because the RICO statute mandates trebling of damages, the total judgment reached $256 million, with the punitive component accounting for the remainder of the award [1]. The verdict ranks among the largest in Alabama history [1].
Senior U.S. District Judge David Proctor, presiding in the Northern District of Alabama, denied post-trial motions for a new trial in a ruling issued June 2, 2026, leaving the full $256 million judgment intact [1]. Judge Proctor's order rejected the defendants' challenges to the verdict and declined to disturb the jury's factual findings on both the defamation and RICO counts [1].
The case carries significant implications for civil RICO litigation strategy and for human rights lawyers who pursue corporate defendants in transnational abuse cases. Collingsworth had been a prominent advocate in Colombian atrocity litigation, and the verdict, if it survives appeal, will likely influence how plaintiffs' firms structure witness-payment and fee arrangements in cross-border human rights suits [1]. No appeal filing was reported in the available sources as of the date of Judge Proctor's ruling.