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GREENSBORO U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan has withdrawn support for a possible lifetime federal appointment for a state judge who ruled in favor of a company that includes her husband.
Three weeks ago, Hagan, D-N.C., recommended Judge Calvin Murphy and two other candidates to fill a vacant seat on the U.S. District Court for Western North Carolina.
Nine days later, Murphy signed a ruling Oct. 23 favoring the owners of five small hydroelectric plants on the Deep River, including one belonging to Hydrodyne Industries. It lists Hagan's husband as a managing member, the News & Record of Greensboro reported Thursday.
The first-term Democratic senator said she didn't know Murphy had ruled in a case in which her husband, Greensboro lawyer Charles "Chip" Hagan III, had a stake until the newspaper asked her to comment.
"I respect Judge Murphy's record of service, and I do not believe he did anything wrong," Hagan said in a statement Wednesday. "However, to avoid any appearance of favoritism from my office, I am asking the White House to withdraw Judge Murphy's name from consideration for U.S. District Court Judge for North Carolina's western district."
Murphy is a part-time Superior Court judge who fills in for sitting judges. He ruled against the Piedmont Triad Regional Water Authority in a lawsuit by Hydrodyne and other small power plants along the Deep River's 80-mile course from Guilford to Chatham County.
The dam owners sued to recover electricity production revenue they say they lost when the authority diverted millions of gallons for drinking water.
It's not clear whether Murphy knew of Chip Hagan's tie to the case, said J. Scott Hale, an attorney at Chip Hagan's firm who represented the plant owners.
