Lawsuit against Gene Stipe law firm settled

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The treasurer of the failed congressional campaign of Walt Roberts has settled a lawsuit against the McAlester law firm of former state Senator Gene Stipe.<br/><br/>Chris Clark sued

Thursday, March 24th 2005, 6:08 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The treasurer of the failed congressional campaign of Walt Roberts has settled a lawsuit against the McAlester law firm of former state Senator Gene Stipe.

Chris Clark sued the Stipe Law Firm, Stipe and attorney -G- Michael Blessington. Court documents show the law firm has been dismissed from the case, but Stipe and Blessington are still involved.

Clark confirmed yesterday that he and the law firm -- now called Stipe, Harper, Laizure, Uselton, Edwards and Belote -- reached a fair settlement in the 2003 federal civil lawsuit. Clark said he couldn't disclose financial terms of the agreement.

Clark alleged that he was made the financial figurehead for Roberts' campaign and that his reputation and business interests were damaged as a result.

Clark says he doesn't expect to settle with the two defendants.

According to the Federal Election Commission, more than 300-thousand dollars in illegal contributions were funneled into Roberts' campaign through schemes orchestrated by Stipe.