I believe that important discussion would be better in another forum - maybe Off Course or Current Events?
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I am eager for the Civil trials to begin. Calling our resident legal eagles, please give us a Dummies for Civil Suit Trials quick overview!
Can the trials begin right away? Does Barisone have to be there? Will they attempt arbitration first? How deep can Barisone’s team go into the mountains of discovery from the criminal trial to present in the Civil Trial? Will the full accounting of the plot to ruin Barisone (as brought up in the criminal trial) be able to be explored and fleshed out in full detail? Will the finances and means of income for LK/RG be brought up in the trial? Will all the Civil trials run simultaneously (will they be combined or all the various cases plod along for years to come)? If tried separately, which trial will go first and how is that decided? Will JK be named in Barisone’s suit as well as LK/RG? Can Barisone refile against the PD for their inaction outside Miranda Rights? So much regarding the failure of the PD was kept out of the Criminal trial.
I sure hope the Civil trial is televised!
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Lots of questions there!
So, the last thing that was filed was that discovery is to begin again 15 days after the criminal trial or by no later than May 22. I’ve already stated that I have concerns about that, in light of MB’s status. Mr D and Mr B aren’t going to jeopardize his mental health evals and subsequent hearings by letting him be subject to depositions and stuff. And you really don’t want him swearing an oath and testifying either in a depo or an affirmation in an interrogatory that could hurt his civil commitment status. Plus, yes, he has to be there as he’s a defendant with a counter-claim.
His counterclaim is absolutely going to delve into the manifesto, and the “Finish The Bastard” plot. Civil suits are far more lenient in what you can dig into. LK, likewise, is going to have her jury-hating lawyer digging up every speck of dirt he can find on MB.
As of this time, I don’t see JK listed in the counterclaim, unless I missed it. And I’m not sure how you can allege that a) he had a duty to MB for something b) he breached that duty and c) that breach caused “injury” to MB. But I am not privy to what all Mr D and Mr B have in their piles of stuff.
The way the suit stands now, it could all be heard at once. Not sure how NJ does things, but it could be like the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial. Right now they’re hearing Depp’s case. Then they are moving on to Heard’s. Anywho, unless one of the parties (say, SGF, or RC) moves to have a separate trial, typically it’s all done at once.
If I were in MB’s legal team, I would be very, very cautious about moving forward until more is known about his mental health and his civil commitment status.
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I’m useless here because my former jurisdiction did things piecemeal and trial start to finish could run years. For instance it could be January 2018 and I was filing motions adjourned to July 2019.
But the parts of the case and papers I’m ok with.
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Thank you so much!!!
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You’re welcome.
Ultimately, while I personally would love to know the rest of the story (anyone remember Paul Harvey?) I wouldn’t be surprised if some kind of settlement happened to make all of it go away. MB has bigger things to focus on, like getting well and getting home. Continuing to relive this nightmare may not be in his best interest.
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Yeah but he also wants the truth told. I’m thinking he means the WHOLE truth.
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I agree. I’m just not sure it’s in his best interest. I mean, the man that collapsed at the verdict is in no shape to handle the nastiness of a civil suit. And you know it’s going to be nasty.
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What if some of these things involve fraud or other criminal acts?
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Yup. But he’s survived this much. If he manages to persevere maybe he’s stronger.
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I have no doubt they do. No doubt whatsoever.
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If there were enough proof that JK committed illegal acts that harmed MB, sure. But a) they should be filing police reports and b) JK telling his daughter (hypothetically) (for example) to start recording conversations, isn’t JK deciding where to place recorders, how to manage the recordings, etc. You have to prove, in a civil suit, that he committed the harm. He’s not liable for his daughter’s bad acts necessarily.
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So, what you are saying then, is how he initiated or responded to the emails about what LK told him she and RG were doing is going to be the determining factor?
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And we know from the trial he was on many of the text chains plotting the destruction of MB.
Fascinating.
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If he personally were emailing threats, or texting threats, or there’s recordings of threats to MB, (or stupidly posting a manifesto on FB). But the devil’s going to be in the details of what he actually did, and the fact that he was actively negotiating an exit with MB’s attorney is going to play in his favor. An exit that his daughter decided didn’t meet her needs. That’s on her.
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What if the email was directing her to do things like access the office and forge signatures on contracts?
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Well then he is a dang fool for putting that in writing. And if his bar license is still active, that would be a huge problem there. And maybe Mr D could make a case there, but ultimately he didn’t DO those things. She did.
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One last question….what would his responsibility have been to notify MB that LK was doing these things or potentially doing these things if it could be proven he knew she was engaging in something illegal? Could that possibly be an ethics violation against his license?
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He may not be liable, but I guess if he is involved - esp if he’s as involved as Mr B was hinting - a lot will be exposed about him just as they make the case against her. I cannot imagine what’s already known is making their lives within their social circle particularly comfortable at the moment.
I also imagine all the details of where the money comes from will come out and that can be extremely uncomfortable for people even if the source(s) are 100% legal. People don’t like opening the books in public even if they have nothing to hide except for the net worth or simple privacy. Also, if other people or family members are involved, that adds another layer of anxiety.
For example, if there is a business partner involved, discovery/trial can upset that apple cart. If the business partner doesn’t want all the details of the business and the finances displayed for the whole world that could end the partnership. Just look what happened to the elderly couple who were partners in SGF. They had no say in this whole fiasco yet they were suddenly very centrally involved in a nasty and public dispute. No wonder they bailed ASAP. A business partner may do the same. If I were in that position, especially if I was a silent partner, I’d be livid to be associated with this circus and I’d be dissolving that partnership yesterday.
One thing MB will have in his favour is he’s already lost everything and been stripped of his very humanity in jail. He had to go through the criminal trial after years in jail. For the civil, it is hoped, he will come at that from a place of being found not guilty, seeing the overwhelming support he has, and being out of jail and in the care of people who genuinely love and care for him, so he should be in a MUCH better place for the next trial than he was for this one, no matter how nasty. Yes, it’s likely to be even worse and will never be a cake walk, but he should be in a better place by then and he will have so much more support.
If he’s coming into the courtroom everyday with his partner by his side and going home at night to sleep in his bed - just imagine the world of contrast to coming in via prison transport to a holding cell, shackled in a jumpsuit, changing into clothes, being watched by armed guards, to the cell for breaks, then changing back into a jumpsuit and shackles, and taken back to a hell hole jail. No wonder he basically collapsed at the end.
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Absolutely all kinds of dirt about him will come out. And that will be bad for him and his family and all that they know. You don’t need to name him in a suit. His association and the involvement we know of makes him a witness that is certainly going to be delved in to.
You make a good point about MB getting to go home at night. That will make a huge difference. I just want him to be well enough that he can go home first. That’s my concern. There’s no need to jump quickly into the fire while he’s sill in the frying pan of civil commitment, and hearings with Judge T and Schellhorn, etc. Get well, Finish that part, and then assess.
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