A newly elected Dallas County judge will have to pay $129,000 to former clients in an asbestos lawsuit who accused him of deliberately lying to them about a lawsuit settlement, a federal jury ruled late Thursday.

The jury said that Ken Tapscott, now presiding over County Court at Law No. 4, had told his clients that all the parties had settled, when one company had not, shorting the clients $225,000.

Mr. Tapscott, at the time a lawyer at the toxic-tort firm Baron & Budd, was one of 42 judicial candidates elected in November's Democratic sweep.

He declined to comment but said in court records that he honestly believed a settlement had been reached. His attorney has asked the judge to rule that there is no evidence of lying – a legal strategy that would in effect overturn the verdict.

"Right now, it's almost as if nothing's happened," said Robert Greenberg, an attorney for Mr. Tapscott and the law firm.

The breach-of-trust case stems from a 1997 wrongful-death lawsuit involving the wife and two daughters of a former shipyard engineer who was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a disease often associated with asbestos exposure.

Mr. Tapscott, representing the family of Carl Jacobs, settled the case with several companies for about $2.5 million. He also informed the family that Pittsburgh Corning, an asbestos insulation manufacturer, would settle for $225,000.

But Pittsburgh Corning didn't immediately settle, and the trial was delayed. They eventually reached a $215,000 settlement, but the family hasn't received the money because the company filed for bankruptcy.

"You get all your leverage when a case is set for trial," said Jeffrey Lynch, the family's lawyer. "The six-month delay in the settling and Baron & Budd giving them to August to pay virtually made it impossible."

Mr. Tapscott's attorney contended in court documents that his client was informed that a settlement had been reached and had confirmed the company's offer. But Pittsburgh Corning backed out and refused to confirm a final agreement, he argued.

Mr. Lynch said another Baron & Budd attorney testified that she told Mr. Tapscott that Pittsburgh Corning hadn't settled before he informed the Jacobs family that it had.

The Jacobs family had also accused Baron & Budd of settling the case without their consent to gain about $1 million in attorney's fees without the expense of going to trial. But the jury said the family had not met the burden of proof.

The firm denied the allegation.

"The settlement that B&B obtained for the Jacobs was very good considering all the relevant factors, such as Mr. Jacobs' age, his long-term, heavy use of tobacco, his limited exposure to asbestos products, his uncertain mesothelioma diagnosis, etc.," the pretrial order said. "Because of these negative factors, it would have been risky to try the case to a jury."

Mike Walz, executive director of the Dallas County Republican Party, said the jury's finding is an example of problems the party pointed out about Democratic judicial candidates in the campaign.

"That's a very serious issue, and I think it goes right to the heart of the integrity issue," he said.

Democratic Party chairwoman Darlene Ewing disputed that.

"Ken's a really bright, qualified judge," she said. "It's called buyer's remorse. [Clients] settle cases and they go home and they talk to their friends and neighbors, and then they say, 'You know, that lawyer cheated me and I deserve more.' "