PERRY COUNTY – A Hattiesburg lawyer from Lowndes County was released from the Perry County Jail after serving just 10 days following a civil contempt order connected to a wrongful death settlement.
He has been placed on house arrest.
Ferraez appeared before the 10th District Chancery Court Thursday, requesting to be released, Court Administrator Gloria Moorer told The Dispatch on Friday.
“He appealed to the judge that if he could be released, he could do some work and be able to raise the rest of the amount that is owed,” Moorer said. “… Judge Smallwood has a policy that any time anyone is incarcerated, she is always open for review.”
Smallwood ordered Ferraez be released from custody and placed under house arrest for 30 days, contingent on Ferraez paying the remaining sum of $48,033.77 to the Perry County Clerk’s Office, Moorer said.
The charges against Ferraez stem from a wrongful death settlement following the death of Stephen Ray “Fuzzy” Weatherford in 2022.
Ferraez, the attorney for the estate, was entrusted to hold the $450,000 in a trust until liens and fees against the estate were resolved. Ferraez missed three court hearings to discuss the status of the case between November 2024 and April.
He was ordered to appear June 16 to explain why he had missed the previous hearings and to provide documentation of the estate funds in the trust account. But Ferraez missed that hearing, too, leading the chancery judge to give Ferraez a June 18 deadline to turn over the money to the chancery clerk’s office to be disbursed to Sylvia Weatherford, the widow of the deceased and sole beneficiary.
Ferraez missed the June 18 deadline as well, and the judge ordered his arrest the following day.
Ferraez was taken into custody by the Perry County Sheriff’s Office July 14 after appearing voluntarily for a court hearing. The court demanded he remain in custody until he tendered the remaining balance owed to the Perry County Clerk’s Office.
At the time of his arrest, Ferraez had made two payments to the clerk’s office, leaving him with a remaining balance of $195,168.77 owed.
After an accountant for the estate deducted funeral home expenses, attorney fees and other outstanding bills, that balance was reduced to $48,033.77, Moorer said.
If the full sum is not tendered to the court within 30 days, Ferraez could face incarceration again, Moorer said.
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