JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A Jackson attorney, blamed for the dismissal of a $100 million lawsuit, resigns from practice following suspension by the state supreme court. One of the plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit against Frito-Lay filed a complaint against the lawyer, Guy Rogers. Despite no longer being allowed to practice law in the state, plaintiffs feel justice has not been served.
“I hired Guy Rogers to handle the Frito Lay case,” said Reggie Ruffin.
In 2021, Ruffin retained Rogers to sue the corporation. His father, Jimmie Lee Ruffin, worked at the Jackson plant for decades as a machine operator and pest control worker. He died at 69 from lung cancer in 2010. Ruffin and five other plaintiffs filed a $100 million class action suit against Frito-Lay.
“The plan was to file the suit in court, have Frito Lay served, get a court date set up,” said Ruffin. “When he failed to turn in the paperwork to get them served, now we don’t have a case”.
“I started off as a packer. Then I went to a machine operator,” said Jane Alice Bulley.
The 83-year-old Jackson native was one of the plaintiffs. She developed lung cancer. The lawsuit claimed toxins at the plant caused illnesses and death.
“You couldn’t help but inhale it because they were spraying it and you were working there, and sometimes we’d still be at work, and they were spraying that stuff,” said Bulley.
The case was dismissed in federal court in December 2022, due to the statute of limitations. Ruffin filed a complaint against Rogers with the Mississippi Bar Association. That same year, Guy Rogers was suspended by the MS Supreme Court for three years after pleading guilty to bringing contraband into the Warren County Jail.
According to Bar Association General Counsel Melissa Selman Scott, “On July 14, 2025, Mr. Rogers submitted his irrevocable resignation to the MS Supreme Court, and the bar in responding has requested that his irrevocable resignation be accepted by the court that he be barred from seeking reinstatement in the future.”
“Mr. Rogers acknowledged to the MS Supreme Court he had eight informal complaints and resigned with prejudice,” said Scott.
“My question is how many other people has Guy Rogers done wrong,” asked Ruffin.
The plaintiffs are still trying to pursue legal action against Frito-Lay. We were unable to reach Guy Rogers for comment.
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