A 2nd lawsuit has challenged a $75 million payment to 2 area law firms.

Former SC Common Cause head John Crangle and the SC Public Interest Foundation are suing to stop Attorney General Alan Wilson’s proposed $75 million payment to the Columbia law firms.

The money was for work they did to force federal officials to pay $600 million to the State of South Carolina.

“Our only response is this lawsuit has no merit,” said Robert Kittle, a spokesman for Wilson.

Crangle, a lawyer and longtime critic of state government corruption, said the firms’ work doesn’t justify $75 million in a lawsuit against the US Department of Energy, The State newspaper reported.

Attorneys Jim Carpenter, Jim Griffin and Badge Humphries sought an injunction to halt any payment until the courts make a final decision on the matter.

A judge has not been appointed to hear the lawsuit filed Friday in the Richland County Court of Common Pleas.

The lawsuit contends the agreement “does not allocate any portion of the $600 million to attorneys’ fees.”

Read more on the lawsuit at https://www.lexingtonchronicle.com/news/75-million-lawyers-issue-again .