Expelled Lawmaker Won't Get Lifetime Benefits: Judge

NASHVILLE, TN -- A federal judge dismissed expelled State Rep. Jeremy Durham's lawsuit seeking lifetime benefits and health insurance.

Durham filed suit against the state finance commissioner, treasurer and director of legislative administration in August in an attempt to recoup his benefits after his expulsion from the House, which voted 70-2 to kick him out of the General Assembly. Had Durham finished his full term, he would have served the four years required to get those lifetime benefits.

But U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger said that Durham did not sue the entity responsible for his expulsion, saying that the trio of administrators he sued were simply acting under the law after Durham's expulsion. Trauger called the suit an "end run" around actually challenging his expulsion, which Durham has repeatedly claimed was unconstitutional.

Durham's fall from grace came after an attorney-general's investigation detailed at least 22 accusations of sexual harassment against the Republican lawmaker.

Image via State of Tennessee