A Birmingham, Ala., state court judge ended a seven-year long case by declaring that the corporate fraud committed by former HealthSouth Corp. Chief Executive Richard Scrushy entitles the health care services company to recover $2.88 billion from the now imprisoned Scrushy.

Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Allwin E. Horn III entered a judgment against Scrushy on Thursday after an 11-day, nonjury trial last month in the case brought by shareholders of HealthSouth on behalf of the company. Tucker v. Scrushy, No. 02-5212. Scrushy, who is serving a sentence related to a separate bribery conviction, maintained that he didn’t know of the fraud happening at HealthSouth.

“Scrushy’s protestations of innocence and ignorance are not credible, are two times too convenient, and are rejected,” Horn said in his opinion.

Scrushy’s lead attorney, Jack McNamee of Birmingham-based McNamee & Miller, said his client will appeal the case to the Alabama Supreme Court. McNamee said Scrushy can take issue with Horn’s opinion on a number of points that he declined to detail. Scrushy was acquitted of fraud charges in 2005 by a federal jury in Alabama.

“We think it’s contrary to the law and the facts,” said McNamee, who worked with two other lawyers, James Parkman and Richard Martin Adams of Birmingham-based Parkman, Adams & White.

Frank DiPrima, a solo practitioner based in Morristown, N.J., who worked with three other attorneys in representing the plaintiff shareholders, said his team is pleased with the outcome and confident that the judgment will withstand an appeal. Ralph Cook and John Haley of Birmingham-based Hare Wynn Newell & Newton and John Somerville of Birmingham-based Galloway & Somerville also represented the plaintiffs. Legal fees will be determined after recovery of as much of the judgment as possible, DiPrima said.

“We will be aggressive in trying to collect on this judgment,” DiPrima said.

David Hymer, an attorney at Birmingham-based Bradley Arant Boult Cummings who represented the company in the proceedings, said his client was also happy with the outcome.

“It’s something that the company has been dealing with for a long time, and they’re very excited to finally see justice prevail,” Hymer said.

Lynne Marek can be reached at [email protected].