Karen Learn returns to courtroom for wrongful loss of life civil case

Karen Learn was again in  Massachusetts courtroom Monday for the primary time since her legal trial ended — and her her protection declared that this time she received’t be “on the defensive.”

“We’re going to try to get the truth out there,” stated Learn’s legal professional Alan Jackson stated exterior the Plymouth County Superior Courtroom. “Like I said, the days of her being on the defensive, those days are over.”

Throughout a standing listening to for the wrongful loss of life civil case towards Learn, her protection indicated they plan to go on the offensive and file claims towards 10 extra events acquainted from the legal trial that they are saying aided a conspiracy towards her.

Learn is one in all quite a few events already named within the civil go well with filed by the household of her former boyfriend John O’Keefe, a Boston police officer she was accused of hitting together with her automobile and leaving to die in 2022.

She was acquitted in June after her second trial of all costs associated to the loss of life of O’Keefe, apart from working a car drunk, for which Learn obtained a yr of probation.

The ten new events Learn’s attorneys intention to usher in with affirmative claims signify a who’s who of characters from the legal trial.

They embody the Massachusetts State Police for alleged negligent coaching and retention of troopers; Learn’s former State Police investigators Lt. Brian Tully, Sgt. Yuri Bukhenik and Michael Proctor for civil rights violations; and the city of Canton for the native police division’s “negligent failure to secure the garage and sally port.”

Learn’s staff additionally advised the courtroom they intend to file civil proper’s and civil conspiracy claims towards Brian Albert, Nicole Albert, Matthew McCabe, Jennifer McCabe and Brian Higgins, who have been in the home O’Keefe was discovered exterior of.

The potential claims relate to a conspiracy purported by Learn’s protection, arguing different events in the home have been concerned in O’Keefe’s loss of life and a coverup framed his then-girlfriend.

“We would be alleging the individuals in the house diverted attention away from themselves, towards Ms. Read,” stated protection legal professional Damon Seligson. “That law enforcement then acted on that diverted attention away from her, because the people in the house were either police or police adjacent who were socially and personally connected. Then they collectively conspired to ensure what happened in the house was not explored and investigated.”

As an alternative, Seligson alleged, Learn was “wrongfully targeted, prosecuted, made to face two criminal trials for the death of John O’Keefe, and is now facing allegations of wrongful death, all stemming from the same claims.”

Decide Daniel O’Shea questioned the necessity to increase the wrongful loss of life case, calling it a “rather extraordinary process.”

Seligson argued relatively than submitting a separate motion towards the extra events, the claims “arrive out of the same facts” and could be a “streamlined approach.”

Attorneys for the plaintiff stated Monday they have been “absolutely not” conscious of the protection’s intention so as to add 10 new defendants to the case.

The protection had not but filed a movement so as to add the brand new events Monday and have been urged by the choose to take action earlier than the following listening to in November.

Monday’s listening to additionally addressed extra points together with delays in discovery and motions to dismiss some claims towards Learn.

Motions to dismiss

Learn’s protection moved to toss a number of counts of inflicting emotional misery on the O’Keefe household, noting the household was not current for the alleged incident by which the previous Boston cop sustained lethal accidents.

The O’Keefes’ lawyer Marc Diller argued the circumstances round John O’Keefe’s loss of life, in addition to Learn’s participation in intense media protection after, met the “extreme and outrageous” bar for the emotional misery declare.

“Margaret and John have now buried two children,” stated Diller. “Paul has buried all his siblings. The defendant always knew this. She has always known their vulnerability and actually creates a calculated and malicious campaign of disinformation designed to hide the truth.”

Diller famous a quote by the blogger Turtleboy — who he referred to as “a reporter who (Read) asserts editorial control” — which acknowledged, “The O’Keefe family’s period of grief has expired, and they are now fair game,” and leaked post-mortem photographs.

“Discovery will track how much leaked information the defendant should have known would result in distress to the O’Keefe family,” stated Diller.

Following the listening to, Learn’s legal professional Jackson argued “every single word that you heard in there was basically parroted, right from Michael Morrissey, right from the prosecution.”

“Maybe somebody should check the tapes, because last time I checked, those arguments were put forward in front of a jury, and the jury spoke very, very loudly, ‘Not guilty,’” stated Jackson. “And not just not guilty, when the jurors were asked, ‘Innocent.”

O’Shea stated he’ll problem a call on the motions to dismiss rapidly forward of the following listening to.