Chapter 21
Wrongful Death
Matt was tied up with his parents for a few days after the Jay Leno fiasco. He’d helped them get their home put back together and retain criminal counsel. They needed to prepare for the possibility that an indictment would be coming down against Rich for the Martha Collins murder. Nothing had happened since the execution of the search warrant, so Matt decided it was time to go back to work on Cindy Sharp’s lawsuit against Reliable Mortgage Servicing. It was after lunch when he went downstairs to pick up the mail. As he sorted through it he discovered a large envelope from Richmond & Richmond. He held his breath as he opened it.
“What the hell!” he exclaimed.
The pleading was entitled Defendant’s Petition for Wrongful Death, and Samantha Jones was the plaintiff. The letter from Marvin Richmond accompanying the petition stated that this was a courtesy copy and asked that Matt accept service of process. Matt squinted, trying to fathom what he was reading. The petition alleged that Cindy Sharp intentionally caused the death of Lucius Jones, the CEO of RMS, by stabbing him to death with a letter opener. What this meant was that Samantha Jones had brought a civil claim against Cindy Sharp for allegedly causing Lucius Jones’s death and wanted a long list of damages. Matt looked up when Ryan walked by his office.
“Look at this bullshit,” Matt said.
Ryan stepped into the room. “What?”
“Cindy is being sued for wrongful death.”
“What?” Ryan exclaimed. “Let me see that.” Ryan read the pleading and shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like this before. You’re right, it’s bullshit—but brilliant bullshit. Even if they can’t prove Cindy did it, it puts our client in a bad light and creates a lot of suspicion.”
“They probably know that the police don’t have enough to convict Cindy for murder since it requires the prosecution to prove its case beyond all reasonable doubt. But the standard for a civil action is much less stringent—to prove a case requires only a preponderance of the evidence.”
“So, what do we do?” Ryan asked.
“Talk to Cindy and see if she wants us to represent her and accept process, I guess.”
“Right. Like she can afford it. This will be pro bono work.”
Matt shrugged. “So we can’t let them get a judgment against her. It would ruin our lawsuit.”
After discussing the situation awhile they took the letter and petition to Rich to get his opinion.
“Actually, this could be a good thing,” Rich said.
Matt and Ryan frowned. “A good thing?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, anything as unique as this will draw media attention. I mean, this is almost like a counterclaim by RMS against Cindy. The media will eat it up.”
“Okay,” Ryan acknowledged. “And how will that be a good thing?”
“It will be great for Matt’s campaign against the mortgage servicing industry. Cindy’s civil case will get ten times the media attention because of this.”
Matt nodded thoughtfully. “That’s true. I guess this is a good thing, unless we lose.”
“Well,” Rich said, “we can’t let that happen.”
“Isn’t this defamatory?” Ryan asked.
“No. You can’t defame someone in a lawsuit,” Rich explained. “What we have to do is catch Samantha telling people that Cindy is a murderer. We need witnesses, or even better, we need to catch her on camera telling people Cindy is a murderer.”
“Marvin Richmond has surely told her to keep her mouth shut,” Matt said.
“That’s true,” Rich agreed. “I know she’s already told Shelly Simms that she thought Cindy had killed her husband. That’s one witness. I’m sure there are others.”
“How about the receptionist. What’s her name?” Ryan asked.
“Sally Sterns, I think,” Rich said. “Talk to Shelly and see if Samantha told Sterns that Cindy was a murderer.”
Matt nodded. “I’ll do that and then we can counterclaim for slander.”
“Also, check and see if there have been any news stories or TV interviews where she may have slandered our client.”
“Will do,” Matt said.
Ryan scratched his head. “What if Cindy is arrested and charged?”
Rich thought a moment. “Well, then we’ll have the civil trial for wrongful death abated until the criminal case is over.”
Matt and Ryan nodded and went back to their offices. Matt got on the phone and called Cindy. He told her the situation and asked if she wanted Coleman & Sons to represent her.
“I don’t have any money to pay you.”
“We know, but we’ll let you run a tab until you get some money.”
“Yeah, right. Like I’d ever get enough money to pay you.”
“Well, you might come into some money if we win the lawsuit. Anyway, we don’t have any choice but to defend you to protect your other lawsuit.”
“Okay, I’ll pay you when I can,” Cindy said, sounding on the verge of tears. “Will there ever be an end to this?”
Matt smiled. “Yeah. That’s a guarantee. One day it will be all over. I just can’t tell you exactly when that day will come, but it may be sooner than you think.”
“I hope so; I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”
“Hang in there, girl,” Matt said. “I’ll keep you posted on what’s going on.”
Matt hung up, feeling bad for Cindy. She’d been through so much—loss of both her and her husband’s jobs, bankruptcy, her husband’s suicide, and now being charged with wrongful death. He could understand how she was at the end of her rope. He just hoped he could keep her from letting go.
Unconscionable, A Rich Coleman Novel Vol 3 Page 22
