HealthSouth Civil Lawsuit Seeks $2.6B From Scrushy

Much of the testimony could be a rehash of Scrushy's 2005 criminal trial on federal fraud charges, which ended in his acquittal. He was convicted in 2006 of federal bribery charges for arranging $500,000 in contributions to the Alabama lottery in exchange for a seat on a state regulatory board.

The two sides in the civil trial do agree on a key issue: A swindle did occur at HealthSouth, which Scrushy founded with a small group of investors in 1985 and ran for nearly two decades as CEO. They disagree on who is to blame.

John W. Haley, an attorney for shareholders, said Scrushy put the scheme in motion in 1996 when two subordinates, finance chief Aaron Beam and controller Bill Owens, told him HealthSouth wouldn't meet its earnings forecast, which Scrushy wanted to avoid.

"Fix the numbers," Haley quoted Scrushy as saying.

An attorney for Scrushy, Jack McNamee, argued the company wrongly blames his client for crimes committed by others. Saying "fix it" hardly amounts to ordering a swindle and coverup, he said.

"It doesn't mean do anything illegal. It doesn't mean fraud," said McNamee.